Abstract
Food-derived peptides with high arginine content have important applications in medicine and food industries, but their potential application in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia remains elusive. Here, we report that high-arginine peptides, such as Oyster peptides and Perilla purple peptides were able to promote spermatogenesis recovery in busulfan-treated mice. We found that both Opp and Ppp could increase sperm concentration and motility after busulfan-induced testicular damage in mice. Further research revealed that Opp and Ppp might promote spermatogonia proliferation, which improved blood-testis barrier recovery between Sertoli cells. Taken together, these high-arginine peptides might be used as a medication or therapeutic component of a diet prescription to improve the fertility of some oligoasthenospermia patients.
Highlights
Male infertility affects millions of people and, recently, has become an important human health issue (Boivin et al, 2007; Mascarenhas et al, 2012)
We found that the food-derived high arginine peptides, Oyster peptides (Opp) and purple peptides (Ppp), could restore spermatogenesis by activating endogenous spermatogonia proliferation after busulfan treatment. (Figure 7) sperm count and motility were at least partially restored, suggesting these peptides, especially Opp, may be a good choice for the recovery of patients who have undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy
Busulfan treatment leads to oligoasthenospermia, which is characterized by sperm head abnormalities and reduced sperm motility (Bucci and Meistrich, 1987; Zhao.X et al, 2020)
Summary
Male infertility affects millions of people and, recently, has become an important human health issue (Boivin et al, 2007; Mascarenhas et al, 2012). Wu et al found that the addition of arginine to boar rations did not change the ejaculate volume, but significantly increased the sperm concentration and viability (Wu et al, 2007) These results suggested that arginine might play an important role in mammalian reproduction and significantly improve the reproductive capacity of animals. When compared to free amino acids, high arginine peptides are more readily delivered into cells (Allolio et al, 2018). We used a busulfan-induced non-obstructive azoospermic (NOA) mouse model to explore the possible effects of Opp and Ppp on spermatogenesis We found that both Opp and Ppp could increase sperm concentration and motility by promoting the proliferation of spermatogonia, which in turn improves blood-testis barrier (BTB) recovery between Sertoli cells after busulfan treatment. It is expected that these higharginine peptides might be used in the treatment of infertility in men who have received chemotherapy or been diagnosed with oligospermia or azoospermia
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