scholarly journals Pesticides as endocrine distruptors of the reproductive system (literature review and own research)

Author(s):  
Ninel Shepelska ◽  
Mykola Prodanchuk ◽  
Yana Kolianchuk

Currently, one of the main threats to human health is undoubtedly endocrine disruptors (ED), since they directly disrupt the processes of homeostasis maintenance, controlled by the endocrine system, the purpose of which is to maintain normal functions and development in a constantly changing environment. Pesticides can disrupt the physiological functioning of many endocrine axes, including the endocrine mechanisms that ensure reproductive health. It should be noted that research aimed at preventing chemically induced reproductive disorders in the human population is one of the central areas of preventive medicine, both in terms of their importance and the complexity of the tasks being solved. Analysis and generalization of the results of our own long-term studies have shown that the selective, and, therefore, the most dangerous toxicity of pesticides for the reproductive system is determined by endocrine-mediated mechanisms of etiopathogenesis. The low level of doses inducing pathological changes in reproductive function in our studies fully confirms one of the universal signs inherent in endocrine-distruptive compounds. The above examples demonstrate a wide range of possible endocrine-mediated mechanisms of reproductive toxicity of pesticides - endocrine disruptors. However, it is very important to note that low doses may be more effective in changing some endpoints compared to high (toxic) doses. Currently, several mechanisms have been identified and studied that demonstrate how hormones and ED induce non-monotonic reactions in animal cells, tissues and organs. The reproductive system, the functioning of which is ensured by a fine balancing of the action of androgens and estrogens, is one of the systems that presents a unique opportunity for modeling a non-monotonic dose dependence. All of the above indicates the extreme danger of the impact of hormonally active agents on the reproductive health of a person and his offspring. At the same time, the threat of endocrine-mediated disorders for subsequent generations can also be realized through the induction of mechanisms of development of epigenetic transgenerational effects. Taking into account the results of studies of the mechanisms of the ED destructive action, as well as their ability to induce non-monotonic dose dependence at an extremely low dose level, it should be admitted that, apparently, there is a need to revise the paradigm of methodological approaches to the regulation of pesticides with endocrine-disruptive properties. Key words: pesticides, endocrine disruptors, reproductive system

2016 ◽  
pp. 126-129
Author(s):  
M. Makarenko ◽  
◽  
D. Hovsyeyev ◽  
L. Sydoryk ◽  
◽  
...  

Different kinds of physiological stress cause mass changes in the cells, including the changes in the structure and function of the protein complexes and in separate molecules. The protein functions is determined by its folding (the spatial conclusion), which depends on the functioning of proteins of thermal shock- molecular chaperons (HSPs) or depends on the stress proteins, that are high-conservative; specialized proteins that are responsible for the correct proteinaceous folding. The family of the molecular chaperones/ chaperonins/ Hsp60 has a special place due to the its unique properties of activating the signaling cascades through the system of Toll-like receptors; it also stimulates the cells to produce anti- inflammatory cytokines, defensins, molecules of cell adhesion and the molecules of MHC; it functions as the intercellular signaling molecule. The pathological role of Hsp60 is established in a wide range of illnesses, from diabetes to atherosclerosis, where Hsp60 takes part in the regulation of both apoptosis and the autoimmune processes. The presence of the HSPs was found in different tissues that are related to the reproductive system. Key words: molecular chaperons (HSPs), Toll-like receptors, reproductive function, natural auto antibody.


Author(s):  
M. A. Fesenko ◽  
G. V. Golovaneva ◽  
A. V. Miskevich

The new model «Prognosis of men’ reproductive function disorders» was developed. The machine learning algorithms (artificial intelligence) was used for this purpose, the model has high prognosis accuracy. The aim of the model applying is prioritize diagnostic and preventive measures to minimize reproductive system diseases complications and preserve workers’ health and efficiency.


Reproduction ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 153 (1) ◽  
pp. R15-R27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Y Jarrett ◽  
Marla E Lujan

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common cause of ovulatory dysfunction affecting women of reproductive age. Obesity and insulin resistance are thought to potentiate disruptions in antral follicle development that result in chronic anovulation, and as such, have become important therapeutic targets of dietary interventions aimed at weight loss. Caloric restriction has been shown to promote sporadic ovulation in obese women with PCOS, but improvements have occurred across a wide range of patients and little has been garnered about the factors that distinguish responders from non-responders. Further, few studies have evaluated the likelihood for modest weight loss to restore normal ovulatory cyclicity in PCOS. Consensus regarding the impact of dietary intervention on ovulation has been limited by variability in the measures used to characterize and report ovulatory status across studies. In response, this review provides an assessment of the evidence surrounding the effectiveness of hypocaloric dietary intervention to normalize ovulatory function in PCOS. The impact of physiological vs methodological factors on the evaluation of ovulatory status is discussed, and recommendations to strengthen future studies in this area are provided. Ultimately, further research is needed to understand the optimal dietary or lifestyle approaches that promote ovulation and sustained improvements in reproductive function in PCOS.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 131-134
Author(s):  
Ješeta Michal ◽  
Chmelíková Eva ◽  
Crha Igor ◽  
Sedmíková Markéta ◽  
Žáková Jana ◽  
...  

AbstractEndocrine disruptors (EDs) are chemical substances that affect physiological processes in the organism via hormonal regulation. The EDs are present in the environment and objects of everyday use. They are often detected in food, particularly released from packaging of canned food, but also from plastic water bottles, and they are also found in cosmetics and fertilizers. They are commonly detected in children's toys, banknotes, receipts and many more objects. Permanent and long-term utilization of EDs has harmful effects on human reproductive health mainly by interference with sex hormone synthesis and mechanism of action. The endocrine disruptors show many negative effects on male reproductive system. Any change during synthesis or activity of sex hormones can cause abnormal reproduction, including developmental anomalies of the sexual system, disruption of testicular development or deterioration of sperm quality. Mainly the impact on the development of testicles in prenatal and early postnatal period can be crucial for reproductive health in males. This review provides an overview of the EDs and their possible impact on reproductive health in males with focus on sperm quality and development of testicles.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1477
Author(s):  
Samy M. El-Megharbel ◽  
Fawziah A. Al-Salmi ◽  
Sarah Al-Harthi ◽  
Khadeejah Alsolami ◽  
Reham Z. Hamza

The detrimental effect of diclofenac sodium (Diclo-Na) on male reproductive organs is reported upon in this paper. Chitosan is a polysaccharide composed of various amounts of glucosamine. Chitosan nanoparticles (CH-NPs) have attracted much attention owing to their biomedical activity. Selenium (Se) has a vital role in nutrition, plays an important role in enhancing male reproduction, and has a wide range of free radical scavenging activities. However, the study of the impact of chitosan nanoparticles in combination with Se (IV) (CH-NPs/Se) on male reproductive toxicity associated with Diclo-Na administration is lacking in recent literature. The current study assessed the ameliorative effects of complexes of CH-NPs/Se (IV) on Diclo-Na and the ways in which they alter reproductive toxicity in male rats. Male rats were treated for 30 days successively, either with Diclo-Na (10 mg/kg) or co-treated with a CH-NPs/Se complex (280 mg/kg). Sperm characteristics, marker enzymes of testicular function, LH, FSH, and testosterone were evaluated in addition to oxidative stress markers and histological alterations. CH-NPs/Se significantly alleviated Diclo-Na-induced decline in sperm count and motility, testicular function enzymes, and levels of LH and testosterone in serum. Additionally, CH-NPs/Se co-administration at 280 mg/Kg, inhibited the Diclo-Na-induced decline of antioxidant enzyme activities and elevated oxidative stress indices and reactive free radicals in testicular homogenates of male rats. CH-NPs/Se (280 mg/kg) alone improved Diclo-Na and ameliorated histological damages in exposed rats. In conclusion, chitosan improved testicular function in Diclo-Na-treated rats by enhancing the testosterone hormone levels, ameliorating testicular tissue, and inhibiting markers of oxidative stress in male rats.


2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-137 ◽  

The nature and extent of the impact of gender and reproductive function on mood has been the subject of speculation and controversy for centuries. Over the past 50 years, however, it has become increasingly clear that not only is the brain a major target of reproductive steroid hormones, but additionally, the steroid hormones, as neuroregulators, create a context thai influences a broad range of brain activities; ie, neural actions and resultant behaviors are markedly different in the presence and absence of gonadal steroids. In turn, the actions of gonadal steroids are themselves context-dependent. Thus, even where it can be demonstrated thai gonadal steroids trigger mood disorders, the triggers are normal levels of gonadal steroids (to be contrasted with the mood disturbances accompanying endocrinopathies), and the mood disorders appear only in a subset of susceptible individuals. The context specificity and differential susceptibility to affective dysregulation seen in women with reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders are undoubtedly important underlying characteristics of a wide range of psychiatric disorders in which the triggers have not yet been identified. Consequently, reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders offer unparalleled promise for the identification of those contextual variables that permit biological stimuli to differentially translate into depression in individuals at risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balakrishnan Nair ◽  
Koson Tony Sriamporn ◽  
Ayan Said ◽  
Wenjie Li ◽  
Adetoun Nnabugwu ◽  
...  

On Wednesday 23 June 2021 a one-day event was hosted by Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Child and Youth Health Research Centre (CYHRC) at South Campus, Manukau City. This annual event was initiated in 2014 and is a collaboration by researchers from AUT, University of Auckland and Massey University. It aims to provide an opportunity for postgraduate students with projects focusing on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Sexual Health to present their studies and to meet and network with other researchers with similar interests. This successful event incorporated much stimulating discussion with the oral presentations by postgraduate students; and there were 40 attendees (both face to face and online) from academic, NGO and public sectors, including New Zealand Aids Foundation (NZAF), District Health Boards, GP clinics. The presentations demonstrated a wide range of topics including HIV counselling programmes in India; blood donor policies among Gay and Bisexual Men in New Zealand; and the role of social media apps in providing sexual and reproductive health information for users. An innovation in 2021 was that of a plenary session at the end of the presentations providing a general forum for discussion based on the theme, 'HIV and Sexual Health in a Post Covid World. Key experts and students discussed their experiences led by a panel of four HIV/Sexual Health researchers. Indigenous Pacific perspectives were also shared along with policy directions and implications.  Key takeaways relevant within the post covid context were the need for more research support in the field of HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health and the impact of HIV/Sexual Health among vulnerable marginalised groups.   Here in this special section of vol 4 of Pacific Health, 2021, we present the abstracts from the oral presentations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mehdi Ommati ◽  
Mohammad Reza Arabnezhad ◽  
Omid Farshad ◽  
Akram Jamshidzadeh ◽  
Hossein Niknahad ◽  
...  

Lithium (Li+) is prescribed against a wide range of neurological disorders. Besides its excellent therapeutic properties, there are several adverse effects associated with Li+. The impact of Li+ on renal function and diabetes insipidus is the most common adverse effect of this drug. On the other hand, infertility and decreased libido is another complication associated with Li+. It has been found that sperm indices of functionality, as well as libido, is significantly reduced in Li+-treated men. These adverse effects might lead to drug incompliance and the cessation of drug therapy. Hence, the main aims of the current study were to illustrate the mechanisms of adverse effects of Li+ on the testis tissue, spermatogenesis process, and hormonal changes in two experimental models. In the in vitro experiments, Leydig cells (LCs) were isolated from healthy mice, cultured, and exposed to increasing concentrations of Li+ (0, 10, 50, and 100 ppm). In the in vivo section of the current study, mice were treated with Li+ (0, 10, 50, and 100 ppm, in drinking water) for five consecutive weeks. Testis and sperm samples were collected and assessed. A significant sign of cytotoxicity (LDH release and MTT assay), along with disrupted testosterone biosynthesis, impaired mitochondrial indices (ATP level and mitochondrial depolarization), and increased biomarkers of oxidative stress were detected in LCs exposed to Li+. On the other hand, a significant increase in serum and testis Li+ levels were detected in drug-treated mice. Moreover, ROS formation, LPO, protein carbonylation, and increased oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were detected in both testis tissue and sperm specimens of Li+-treated mice. Several sperm anomalies were also detected in Li+-treated animals. On the other hand, sperm mitochondrial indices (mitochondrial dehydrogenases activity and ATP levels) were significantly decreased in drug-treated groups where mitochondrial depolarization was increased dose-dependently. Altogether, these data mention oxidative stress and mitochondrial impairment as pivotal mechanisms involved in Li+-induced reproductive toxicity. Therefore, based on our previous publications in this area, therapeutic options, including compounds with high antioxidant properties that target these points might find a clinical value in ameliorating Li+-induced adverse effects on the male reproductive system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Filip Benko ◽  
Patrik Hrnčiar ◽  
Norbert Lukáč ◽  
Róbert Kirchner ◽  
Eva Tvrdá

Summary Compounds of natural origin are often used for their beneficial effects on the male endocrine system and the synthesis of steroid biomolecules in testicular tissue. One of such compounds is quercetin (QUE), which belongs to the flavonoid family and is found in a wide range of vegetables, fruits and plant products. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of QUE on the endocrine function of rat testicular fragments under in vitro conditions. Testicular fragments from adult Wistar rats (n=9), cultured in the D-MEM medium with different concentrations of QUE (namely 1, 10 and 100 µmol/L) for 24 h at 37°C (5% CO2), were used in the experiment conducted. Following culture, the medium was separated and the levels of cholesterol (CHOL) and male hormones were measured. CHOL values were quantified spectrophotometrically, whereas the concentrations of androstenedione (ANDRO), dehydropeiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone (TEST) were quantified using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) commercial kit. The results obtained indicate that 10 µmol/L QUE significantly increased (P<0.001; P<0.05) the concentrations of all the steroid biomolecules considered (CHOL, ANDRO, DHEA and TEST) when compared to the control samples. Accordingly, our findings confirm the positive impact of QUE on the endocrine function and steroidogenesis of rat testicular tissue under in vitro conditions.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 6443
Author(s):  
Lucian-Gabriel Zamfir ◽  
Mihaela Puiu ◽  
Camelia Bala

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are contaminants that may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, hampering the normal functions of the endocrine system in humans and animals. These substances, either natural or man-made, are involved in development, breeding, and immunity, causing a wide range of diseases and disorders. The traditional detection methods such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and chromatography are still the golden techniques for EDs detection due to their high sensitivity, robustness, and accuracy. Nevertheless, they have the disadvantage of being expensive and time-consuming, requiring bulky equipment or skilled personnel. On the other hand, early stage detection of EDs on-the-field requires portable devices fulfilling the Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid and Robust, Equipment free, Deliverable to end users (ASSURED) norms. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-based sensors can be easily implemented in fully automated, sample-to-answer devices by integrating electrodes in microfluidic chips. The latest achievements on EIS-based sensors are discussed and critically assessed.


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