Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
Volume 307, Issue 12, Pages E1125-E1130Publisher
AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00416.2014
Keywords
cholesterol; male infertility; blood-testis barrier; tight junctions
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [P30 GM-103329, R21 AG-043338, R01 MH-100972]
- Research Experiences for Medical Students program at UND
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About 15% of heterosexual couples in the USA suffer from infertility issues; male infertility accounts for similar to 50% of all infertility cases and roughly 50% of male infertility is idiopathic. Increased levels of plasma cholesterol affect spermatogenesis and male fertility negatively, but by unclear mechanisms. Clearly, spermatogenesis occurs in immune-privileged seminiferous tubules that are protected by the blood-testis barrier (BTB), and BTB disruption results in sperm damage and male infertility. Accordingly, using rabbits fed a 2% cholesterol-enriched diet for 2, 4, and 6 wk to raise levels of plasma cholesterol, we tested the hypothesis that elevated levels of plasma cholesterol disrupt the BTB functionally and biochemically. The cholesterol-enriched diet increased lipid deposition dramatically and time-dependently in the seminiferous tubules and disrupted the BTB as evidenced by increased IgG staining within the seminiferous tubules. Total protein levels of the tight-junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin were increased in the seminiferous tubules of rabbits fed the cholesterol-enriched diet, and the distribution patterns of tight-junction proteins were markedly affected, including an increased accumulation of tight-junction proteins in endosomes. Disruption of the integrity of the BTB due to increased plasma levels of cholesterol might play a role in male infertility.
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