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Xin S, Xiaoxuan L, Yixuan Z, Zhikang C. Leptin promotes proliferation of human undifferentiated spermatogonia by activating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Am J Reprod Immunol 2024; 91:e13811. [PMID: 38282611 DOI: 10.1111/aji.13811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Male infertility is a common disease affecting male reproductive health. Leptin is an important hormone that regulates various physiological processes, including reproductive function. However, few experimental studies have been carried out to elucidate the mechanism of leptin's effects on male reproductive function. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of leptin on testicular spermatogenesis and its mechanism, so as to provide potential targets for the treatment of patients with spermatogenic dysfunction. METHODS Testicular tissues were collected from eight prostate cancer patients undergoing surgical castration. GPR125-positive spermatogonia were isolated by two consecutive magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS), followed by incubation with conditioned medium. To identify the signaling pathway(s) involved in the effects of leptin, undifferentiated spermatogonia were treated with different concentrations of leptin and antagonists of leptin-related pathways. The proliferative effect of leptin was evaluated by cell counting using a hemocytometer. Expressions of p-AKT, p-ERK, p-STAT, and p-S6K were determined by western blotting analysis. RESULTS Leptin promoted the growth of human GPR125-positive spermatogonia in a concentration-dependent manner. The most significant proliferative effect was observed using 100 ng/mL leptin after 6 days of culture. Leptin significantly increased the phosphorylation of STAT3, AKT, and ERK in undifferentiated spermatogonia. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 inhibited the leptin-induced activation of AKT, ERK, and downstream S6K. Treatment with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor rapamycin also inhibited S6K phosphorylation. Moreover, both LY294002 and rapamycin were found to inhibit the leptin-induced proliferation of undifferentiated spermatogonia. These results suggested that the leptin-induced proliferation of GPR125-positive spermatogonia was dependent on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Further exploration of proliferation and apoptotic markers suggested that leptin may alleviate cell apoptosis by regulating the expression of Bax and FasL. CONCLUSIONS A certain concentration of leptin (25∼100 ng/mL) could promote proliferation of undifferentiated spermatogonia, which was mediated by PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xin
- Department of Urology, Gongli Hospital of Shanghai Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Xiaoxuan
- School of Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Zhang Yixuan
- School of Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Cai Zhikang
- Department of Urology, Gongli Hospital of Shanghai Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China
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Leptin and prolactin reduce cryodamage in normozoospermic human semen samples during cryopreservation. Rev Int Androl 2022; 21:100336. [PMID: 36280439 DOI: 10.1016/j.androl.2021.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 09/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cryopreservation has destructive effects on the function and structure of spermatozoa. It is known that leptin and prolactin play an active role in decreasing the rates of reactive oxygen species and DNA fragmentation, as well as enhancing sperm motility. Hence, this experiment aimed to investigate the effects of leptin and prolactin as pro-survival factors on the normozoospermic human semen samples during cryopreservation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Semen samples were collected from 15 healthy, fertile men ranging from 25 to 40 years. Cryopreservation of the samples was performed in liquid nitrogen over a period of two weeks, using five varying concentrations of leptin/prolactin, 0, 10, 100, 500, and 1000ng/ml respectively. Sperm motility, total caspase activity, and mitochondrial and cytosolic ROS were measured by flowcytometry, TUNEL, and other appropriate tests after thawing of the samples. RESULTS Both hormones were observed to have positive effects on the motility of the samples post-cryopreservation, the highest improvement being in the 100ng/ml concentration leptin and prolactin in comparison to the control group (P=0.01 and P=0.041, respectively). A significant reduction of mitochondrial ROS was also observed in 100 and 1000ng/ml of leptin (P=0.042), and there was a considerable decrease in the cytosolic ROS in the 100ng/ml of prolactin in comparison to the control group (P=0.048). Total caspase activity was also highly reduced in the 100, 500, and 1000ng/ml of leptin compared to the control group (P=0.039). Interestingly, both hormones also significantly decreased DNA fragmentation in 1000ng/ml compared to the control group (P=0.042). CONCLUSION It can be concluded that leptin and prolactin act as protective agents against cryodamage to spermatozoa during cryopreservation.
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Zarezadeh R, Fattahi A, Nikanfar S, Oghbaei H, Ahmadi Y, Rastgar Rezaei Y, Nouri M, Dittrich R. Hormonal markers as noninvasive predictors of sperm retrieval in non-obstructive azoospermia. J Assist Reprod Genet 2021; 38:2049-2059. [PMID: 33791895 PMCID: PMC8417206 DOI: 10.1007/s10815-021-02176-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is one of the leading causes of male factor infertility, which results from impaired spermatogenesis. Currently, the sole feasible therapeutic option for men with NOA to father their biologic children is sperm retrieval by testicular sperm extraction (TESE) approaches followed by an intracytoplasmic sperm injection program. Nevertheless, the rate of sperm retrieval from NOA men following TESE has remained as low as 50%, leading to a significant number of unsuccessful TESE operations. Given that TESE is associated with multiple side effects, the prediction of TESE outcome preoperatively can abolish unnecessary operations and thereby prevent NOA patients from sustaining adverse side effects. As the process of spermatogenesis is under the regulation of hormones, the hormonal profile of serum and/or seminal plasma may contain useful information about spermatogenesis status and can potentially predict the chance of sperm retrieval from NOA patients. A large body of literature is available on the predictive capability of different serum and seminal plasma hormones such as FSH, LH, testosterone, inhibin B, AMH, estradiol, prolactin, and leptin in a stand-alone basis or combinational fashion with respect to the TESE outcome. The present review aimed to evaluate the potential of these hormonal markers as noninvasive predictors of sperm retrieval in men with NOA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reza Zarezadeh
- Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Amir Fattahi
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Saba Nikanfar
- Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Hajar Oghbaei
- Department of Physiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Yadollah Ahmadi
- Department of Urology, Sina Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Yeganeh Rastgar Rezaei
- Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Nouri
- Stem Cell Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ralf Dittrich
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erlangen University Hospital, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen–Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
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Xia M, Yang M, Wang Y, Tian F, Hu J, Yang W, Tao S, Lu L, Ding X, Jiang S, Li W. dl-Mandelic acid exhibits high sperm-immobilizing activity and low vaginal irritation: A potential non-surfactant spermicide for contraception. Biomed Pharmacother 2020; 126:110104. [PMID: 32224371 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 02/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
dl-Mandelic acid (MA), an alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acid, has been widely used as an intermediate of pharmaceutical and fine chemicals. Here, we evaluated the sperm-immobilizing activity of MA and its safety profiles. Spermatozoon motility was assessed by computer-aided sperm analysis, the integrity of the plasma membrane and. mitochondrial potential was assessed using fluorescein isothiocyanate-pisum sativum agglutinin and JC-1, respectively. The local tolerance of the MA-containing gel formulation was evaluated using a rabbit vaginal irritation test. We found that MA inhibited sperm motility and movement patterns in a concentration-dependent manner. Within 20 s, MA-induced spermatozoa immobilization occurred with a minimum effective concentration and a median effective concentration of 0.86 and 0.54 mg/mL, respectively. Plasma membrane disruptions of MA-treated spermatozoa were relatively mild, but mitochondrial depolarization occurred. Histopathological examination showed that MA exposure did not exert obvious effects on the integrity of spermatozoa membrane structures and only caused slight irritation to the rabbit vaginal epithelium. The vaginal irritation scores of the vehicle control and the nonoxynol -9 gel control groups were 1.38 ± 0.65 and 7.88 ± 1.67, respectively (p < 0.01), whereas those of the MA gel groups at 10, 20, and 40 mg/mL were 1.69 ± 1.04, 2.98 ± 0.77, and 4.35 ± 1.04 with p values of >0.05, >0.05, and <0.05 (vs. vehicle control), respectively, which were within the clinically acceptable range (<8). Therefore, our results confirmed that MA exhibited significant sperm-immobilizing effects and caused mild plasma membrane injury, suggesting that it has potential for development as a future non-surfactant spermicide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjie Xia
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Mingjun Yang
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yuzhu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Fang Tian
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jingying Hu
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Wei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shimin Tao
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Lu Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/MOH, School of Basic Medical Sciences, 130 Dong An Rd., Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xuncheng Ding
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shibo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China; Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology of MOE/MOH, School of Basic Medical Sciences, 130 Dong An Rd., Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200032, China; Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
| | - Weihua Li
- Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation of National Health Commission (Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research), Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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