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Chronic exposure to polystyrene microplastics induced LHR reduction and decreased testosterone levels through NF-κB pathway
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Mice given drinking water containing polystyrene microplastics for 180 days showed significant drops in testosterone levels through a newly identified mechanism. The microplastics triggered immune cells in the testes to release inflammatory signals that suppressed a key hormone receptor (LHR), disrupting the entire hormonal pathway needed for testosterone production. This finding adds to growing evidence that microplastic exposure may impair male reproductive health.
The extensive utilization of plastic products in recent years has resulted in a significant contamination of microplastics (MPs). The ingestion of MPs by aquatic and terrestrial organisms facilitates their transmission to mammals through the food chain. Therefore, the toxicity of MPs has attracted widespread attention from researchers. Previous studies have shown a connection between being exposed to polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) and issues with male reproductive function. Testosterone, a hormone essential for male reproductive function, is produced and secreted by specialized cells known as Leydig cells, which found in the testicular interstitium. In our prior research, we confirmed that exposure to PS-MPs caused a reduction in testosterone levels by interfering with the LH-mediated LHR/cAMP/PKA/StAR pathway, with LHR being pivotal in this mechanism. However, the molecular mechanism underlying PS-MPs-induced reduction of LHR remains unclear. In this study, mice were respectively given drinking water containing 1000 μg/L PS-MPs characterized by diameters of 0.5 μm, 4 μm, and 10 μm for a period of 180 days. Our findings indicated that exposure to PS-MPs resulted in the proliferation of macrophages as well as their polarization towards the M1 phenotype. Additionally, the presence of PS-MPs triggered the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) from macrophages, thereby activating nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway within Leydig cells. The translocation of NF-κB into nucleus facilitated its binding to the promoter region of LHR, which consequently led to the repression of LHR transcription. This transcriptional inhibition resulted in a subsequent suppression of testosterone synthesis and secretion. Overall, this study elucidates a theoretical basis for explaining the interference of PS-MPs on the testosterone synthesis and secretion in Leydig cells from the perspective of the interaction between cells in the testicular interstitium.
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Chronic exposure to polystyrene microplastics induced male reproductive toxicity and decreased testosterone levels via the LH-mediated LHR/cAMP/PKA/StAR pathway
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Mice exposed to polystyrene microplastics in their drinking water for 180 days showed significant reproductive damage, including reduced testosterone, lower sperm quality, and changes in testicular structure. The researchers identified a specific hormonal pathway through which microplastics suppress testosterone production in the cells that make it. This long-term, low-dose study is particularly relevant because the exposure levels are closer to what humans might experience in everyday life.
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