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A Review of Uranium-Induced Reproductive Toxicity

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Abstract

As a heavy metal nuclear fuel, uranium is used in various civil and military projects, resulting in environmental pollution. Uranium can enter the body through the mouth, nose and skin, threatening human health. The reproductive organs are sensitive to uranium. For certain exposure times, doses and modes, uranium can produce toxic effects on the reproductive organs. The reproductive toxicity of uranium can be produced through different mechanisms of action, such as changing the level of sex hormones in the body, disrupting the expression of genes or proteins related to reproduction and causing oxidative stress and inflammation. Uranium thus can cause toxic effects to the reproductive system, leading to histopathological changes and decreased conception rates, and may damage the health of the body. This paper reviews the research progress on uranium reproductive toxicity in recent years and indicates a direction for future research on uranium reproductive toxicity and its mechanisms.

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Abbreviations

CCL-2:

Chemokines 2

DU:

Depleted uranium

FSH:

Follicle-stimulating hormone

HPRT:

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribose transferase

IL-1β:

Interleukin-1 beta

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase

LH:

Luteinising hormone

LDH:

Lactate dehydrogenase

P450scc:

Cytochrome P450 cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme

PGE2:

Prostaglandin E2

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SDH:

Succinate dehydrogenase

SCSA:

Sperm chromatin structure assay

StAR:

Steroids synthesize the acute regulatory protein

T:

testosterone

TNF-α:

tumour necrosis factor α

U:

Uranium

UA:

Uranyl acetate

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Fund (nos. 81472913 and 81741112).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Institute of Combined Injury, Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University, No.30 Gaotanyan Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Shuang Wang, Yonghong Ran, Binghui Lu, Juan Li & Yuhui Hao

  2. Chongqing Normal University, No.37, Middle University Road, Shapingba District, Chongqing, China

    Hongrong Kuang & Li Gong

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  1. Shuang Wang
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Contributions

WS wrote the manuscript. KHR conducted literature search. RYH and LBH participated in literature search and revised the manuscript. LJ and GL assisted in literature search. HYH is responsible for the revision of the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yuhui Hao.

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Wang, S., Ran, Y., Lu, B. et al. A Review of Uranium-Induced Reproductive Toxicity. Biol Trace Elem Res 196, 204–213 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01920-2

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