López-Botella Andrea, Velasco Irene, Acién Maribel, Sáez-Espinosa Paula, Todolí-Torró José-Luis, Sánchez-Romero Raquel, Gómez-Torres María José
Service of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Unit of Human Reproduction, FISABIO-San Juan University Hospital, Carretera Alicante-Valencia s/n, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain.
Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Sep 15;10(9):1473. doi: 10.3390/antiox10091473.
Heavy metals are endocrine disruptors which interfere with processes mediated by endogenous hormones of the organism, negatively affecting endocrine functions. Some studies have correlated heavy metal exposure with male infertility. However, the number of studies conducted on humans are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to summarize the current knowledge on how heavy metals influence human male fertility. Hence, three distinct databases were consulted-PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science-using single keywords and combinations of them. The total number of identified articles was 636. Nevertheless, by using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 144 articles were finally included in this work. Results display that the development of adequate instruments for heavy metal assessment may play an important function in human male fertility diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, clinical trials could be useful to confirm the role of heavy metals in human male fertility diagnosis. Overall, further research is required to fully understand the molecular and cellular basis of the influence of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals on human male infertility and reproductive outcomes.
重金属是内分泌干扰物，会干扰生物体内源激素介导的过程，对内分泌功能产生负面影响。一些研究已将重金属暴露与男性不育症联系起来。然而，针对人类开展的研究数量有限。因此，本研究的目的是总结当前关于重金属如何影响人类男性生育能力的知识。为此，使用单个关键词及其组合查阅了三个不同的数据库——PubMed、Scopus和科学网。共识别出636篇文章。不过，通过应用纳入和排除标准，最终有144篇文章被纳入本研究。结果显示，开发用于重金属评估的适当仪器可能在人类男性生育诊断和治疗中发挥重要作用。此外，临床试验可能有助于证实重金属在人类男性生育诊断中的作用。总体而言，需要进一步开展研究，以充分了解环境和职业性重金属暴露对人类男性不育症及生殖结局影响的分子和细胞基础。
