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Temporal decline of sperm concentration: role of endocrine disruptors

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Abstract

Introduction

Male infertility is a widespread disease with an etiology that is not always clear. A number of studies have reported a decrease in sperm production in the last forty years. Although the reasons are still undefined, the change in environmental conditions and the higher exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), namely bisphenol A, phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl esters, dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene, pesticides, and herbicides, organophosphates, and heavy metals, starting from prenatal life may represent a possible factor justifying the temporal decline in sperm count.

Aim

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of the effects of the exposure to EDCs on testicular development, spermatogenesis, the prevalence of malformations of the male genital tract (cryptorchidism, testicular dysgenesis, and hypospadias), testicular tumor, and the mechanisms of testicular EDC-mediated damage.

Narrative review

Animal studies confirm the deleterious impact of EDCs on the male reproductive apparatus. EDCs can compromise male fertility by binding to hormone receptors, dysregulating the expression of receptors, disrupting steroidogenesis and hormonal metabolism, and altering the epigenetic mechanisms. In humans, exposure to EDCs has been associated with poor semen quality, increased sperm DNA fragmentation, increased gonadotropin levels, a slightly increased risk of structural abnormalities of the genital apparatus, such as cryptorchidism and hypospadias, and development of testicular tumor. Finally, maternal exposure to EDCs seems to predispose to the risk of developing testicular tumors.

Conclusion

EDCs negatively impact the testicular function, as suggested by evidence in both experimental animals and humans. A prenatal and postnatal increase to EDC exposure compared to the past may likely represent one of the factors leading to the temporal decline in sperm counts.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Prof. Ponco Birowo for his critical review of the paper and helpful feedback, Dr. Damayanthi Durairajanayagam for her help with the scientific editing, and the artist Bernastine Buchanan from the Cleveland Clinic’s Center, Medical Art & Photography, for creating the illustration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Rossella Cannarella

  2. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Rossella Cannarella

  3. Department of Urology, Selcuk University School of Medicine, Konya, Turkey

    Murat Gül

  4. Vattikuti Urology Institute, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA

    Amarnath Rambhatla

  5. American Center for Reproductive Medicine (Virtual Research), Global Andrology Forum, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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  1. Rossella Cannarella
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Cannarella, R., Gül, M., Rambhatla, A. et al. Temporal decline of sperm concentration: role of endocrine disruptors. Endocrine 79, 1–16 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-022-03136-2

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