Moustakli Efthalia, Zikopoulos Athanasios, Sakaloglou Prodromos, Bouba Ioanna, Sofikitis Nikolaos, Georgiou Ioannis
Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, United Kingdom.
Front Reprod Health. 2023 Feb 20;5:1107215. doi: 10.3389/frph.2023.1107215. eCollection 2023.
Prior research has substantiated the vital role of telomeres in human fertility. Telomeres are prerequisites for maintaining the integrity of chromosomes by preventing the loss of genetic material following replication events. Little is known about the association between sperm telomere length and mitochondrial capacity involving its structure and functions. Mitochondria are structurally and functionally distinct organelles that are located on the spermatozoon's midpiece. Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), which is necessary for sperm motility and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). While a moderate concentration of ROS is critical for egg-sperm fusion, and fertilization, excessive ROS generation is primarily related to telomere shortening, sperm DNA fragmentation, and alterations in the methylation pattern leading to male infertility. This review aims to highlight the functional connection between mitochondria biogenesis and telomere length in male infertility, as mitochondrial lesions have a damaging impact on telomere length, leading both to telomere lengthening and reprogramming of mitochondrial biosynthesis. Furthermore, it aims to shed light on how both inositol and antioxidants can positively affect male fertility.
先前的研究证实了端粒在人类生育中的重要作用。端粒是通过防止复制事件后遗传物质的丢失来维持染色体完整性的先决条件。关于精子端粒长度与线粒体容量（涉及其结构和功能）之间的关联，人们所知甚少。线粒体是结构和功能独特的细胞器，位于精子的中段。线粒体通过氧化磷酸化（OXPHOS）产生三磷酸腺苷（ATP），这对精子运动是必需的，并且会产生活性氧（ROS）。虽然适度浓度的ROS对精卵融合和受精至关重要，但过量产生ROS主要与端粒缩短、精子DNA片段化以及甲基化模式改变导致男性不育有关。本综述旨在强调男性不育中线粒体生物发生与端粒长度之间的功能联系，因为线粒体损伤对端粒长度有破坏性影响，导致端粒延长和线粒体生物合成的重编程。此外，它旨在阐明肌醇和抗氧化剂如何能对男性生育产生积极影响。
