Abstract
Male infertility induced by heat stress has been attracting more and more attention. Heat stress not only causes apoptosis of spermatocytes but also has adverse effects on Sertoli cells, further damaging spermatogenesis. Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is the main bioactive component of Lycium barbarum, which has a protective effect on male reproduction, but its mechanism is still unclear. In this study, our results proved that LBP blocked the inhibitory effect on the proliferation activity of Sertoli cells after heat stress, reversed the dedifferentiation of Sertoli cells induced by heat stress, and ameliorated the structural integrity of the blood-testis barrier. In addition, it increased the expression of the androgen receptor and activated Akt signaling pathway to resist heat-stress-induced injury of Sertoli cells.
Highlights
More than half of the childbearing couples could not have children due to male infertility [1, 2], which is induced by varieties of causes including the spermatogenic quantitative or qualitative defect, catheter obstruction or dysfunction, and hypothalamic-pituitary axis disorders [3, 4]
Occludin and zonula occludens-1 exist between adjacent Sertoli cells (SCs) [16] and compose blood-testis barrier (BTB) which provides a suitable microenvironment for spermatogenesis [17, 18]. e decrease of occludin and zonula occludens-1 causes the damage of BTB integrity, negatively effecting spermatogenesis [15, 19]
DMEM/F12, 0.25% trypsin-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, collagenase IV, fetal bovine serum (FBS), and penicillin-streptomycin liquid were purchased from Gibco (BRL, Gaithersburg, MD, USA). 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and the bicinchoninic acid (BCA) protein assay kit were purchased from Solarbio Life Sciences (Beijing, China)
Summary
More than half of the childbearing couples could not have children due to male infertility [1, 2], which is induced by varieties of causes including the spermatogenic quantitative or qualitative defect, catheter obstruction or dysfunction, and hypothalamic-pituitary axis disorders [3, 4]. Among these situations, abnormal spermatogenesis is the primary culprit of impaired male fertility. Occludin and zonula occludens-1 exist between adjacent SCs [16] and compose BTB which provides a suitable microenvironment for spermatogenesis [17, 18]. e decrease of occludin and (or) zonula occludens-1 causes the damage of BTB integrity, negatively effecting spermatogenesis [15, 19]
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