{"title":"Current mechanistic perspectives on male reproductive toxicity induced by heavy metals.","authors":"Brilliance Onyinyechi Anyanwu, Orish Ebere Orisakwe","doi":"10.1080/26896583.2020.1782116","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Environmental and occupational exposures to heavy metals have led to various deleterious damages to the biological system of which infertility is one of them. Infertility is a global public health concern, affecting 15% of all couples of reproductive age. Out of the 100% cases of reported infertility among couples, 40% of the cases are related to male factors; including decreased semen quality. This review focuses on the recent mechanistic perspectives of heavy metal-induced male reproductive toxicity. The associated toxic metal-mediated mechanisms of male reproductive toxicity include ion mimicry, disruption of cell signaling pathways, oxidative stress, altered gene expression, epigenetic regulation of gene expression, apoptosis, disruption of testis/blood barrier, inflammation and endocrine disruption. The current literature suggests that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) mediate paternal intergenerational epigenetic inheritance and thus has a direct functional importance, as well as possess novel biomarker potential, for male reproductive toxicity. To identify the specific ncRNAs with the most profound impacts on heavy metal-induced male reproductive toxicity should be thrust of further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":53200,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part C-Toxicology and Carcinogenesis","volume":"38 3","pages":"204-244"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/26896583.2020.1782116","citationCount":"20","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part C-Toxicology and Carcinogenesis","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/26896583.2020.1782116","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2020/7/10 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 20
Abstract
Environmental and occupational exposures to heavy metals have led to various deleterious damages to the biological system of which infertility is one of them. Infertility is a global public health concern, affecting 15% of all couples of reproductive age. Out of the 100% cases of reported infertility among couples, 40% of the cases are related to male factors; including decreased semen quality. This review focuses on the recent mechanistic perspectives of heavy metal-induced male reproductive toxicity. The associated toxic metal-mediated mechanisms of male reproductive toxicity include ion mimicry, disruption of cell signaling pathways, oxidative stress, altered gene expression, epigenetic regulation of gene expression, apoptosis, disruption of testis/blood barrier, inflammation and endocrine disruption. The current literature suggests that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) mediate paternal intergenerational epigenetic inheritance and thus has a direct functional importance, as well as possess novel biomarker potential, for male reproductive toxicity. To identify the specific ncRNAs with the most profound impacts on heavy metal-induced male reproductive toxicity should be thrust of further research.