Selvaraju Vaithinathan, Baskaran Saradha, Agarwal Ashok, Henkel Ralf
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Hospitality Management, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Andrologia. 2021 Feb;53(1):e13646. doi: 10.1111/and.13646. Epub 2020 May 24.
The escalating prevalence of male infertility and decreasing trend in sperm quality have been correlated with rapid industrialisation and the associated discharge of an excess of synthetic substances into the environment. Humans are inevitably exposed to these ubiquitously distributed environmental contaminants, which possess the ability to intervene with the growth and function of male reproductive organs. Several epidemiological reports have correlated the blood and seminal levels of environmental contaminants with poor sperm quality. Numerous in vivo and in vitro studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of various environmental contaminants on spermatogenesis, steroidogenesis, Sertoli cells, blood-testis barrier, epididymis and sperm functions. The reported reprotoxic effects include alterations in the spermatogenic cycle, increased germ cell apoptosis, inhibition of steroidogenesis, decreased Leydig cell viability, impairment of Sertoli cell structure and function, altered expression of steroid receptors, increased permeability of blood-testis barrier, induction of peroxidative and epigenetic alterations in spermatozoa resulting in poor sperm quality and function. In light of recent scientific reports, this review discusses the effects of environmental contaminants on the male reproductive function and the possible mechanisms of action.
男性不育症患病率的不断上升以及精子质量的下降趋势，与快速工业化以及随之而来的大量合成物质排放到环境中有关。人类不可避免地接触到这些广泛分布的环境污染物，它们能够干扰男性生殖器官的生长和功能。多项流行病学报告将环境污染物的血液和精液水平与精子质量差联系起来。已经进行了大量的体内和体外研究，以调查各种环境污染物对精子发生、类固醇生成、支持细胞、血睾屏障、附睾和精子功能的影响。报告的生殖毒性作用包括生精周期改变、生殖细胞凋亡增加、类固醇生成抑制、睾丸间质细胞活力下降、支持细胞结构和功能受损、类固醇受体表达改变、血睾屏障通透性增加、精子过氧化和表观遗传改变导致精子质量和功能不佳。鉴于最近的科学报告，本综述讨论了环境污染物对男性生殖功能的影响及其可能的作用机制。
