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Oxidative Stress in Reproductive Toxicology

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Abstract

Reproductive toxicology is research on the impact of chemical and physical agents on the reproductive organs or on the process of reproduction. Reproductive toxicity is the adverse effects of toxic substances on sexual function and fertility in adult males and females, and developmental impact in the embryos. This chapter focuses upon male reproductive toxicology. The testis is the primary organ where testosterone is produced and sperms or male gametes were regenerated via spermatogenesis. During the spermatogenesis process, some germ cells continually go through mitotic and meiotic division for proliferation and differentiation, but some may be eliminated by apoptotic death. Spontaneous apoptotic cell death is an important mechanism to eliminate germ cells with genomic abnormality for the insurance of the genomic integrity and heritage of matured gametes. Germ cells undergoing spermatogenesis are highly sensitive to environmental challenges; therefore, apoptotic death is also a sensitive response of these germ cells to chemical toxicants such as anticancer drugs and toxic metals, physical stress such as radiation, and even to certain chronic pathological stresses such as diabetes. Mechanistic studies indicate that oxidative stress plays a critical role in inducing apoptotic death of male germ cells subsequent exposure to these environmental challenges.

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Acknowledgment

The work in the authors’ laboratories was supported, in part, by research grants from American Diabetes Association (02-07-JF-10; 05-07-CD-02; 01-11-BS-17, to CL), a Starting-Up Fund for Chinese-American Research Institute for Diabetic Complications from Wenzhou Medical University (to CL), a grant from the National Science Foundation of China (81300724, to YGZ), and Doctoral Program Foundation for New Teachers of China’s Ministry of Education (20120061120087, to ZYG). YGZ is a recipient of a scholarship under the State Scholarship Fund from the China Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130021, China

    Yu-Guang Zhao

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Kosair Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Yu-Guang Zhao & Lu Cai

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  1. Yu-Guang Zhao
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  2. Lu Cai
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Correspondence to Lu Cai .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental & Human Toxicology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Stephen M. Roberts

  2. Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    James P. Kehrer

  3. Department of Nutrigenomics, Institute of Nutrition, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Thüringen, Germany

    Lars-Oliver Klotz

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Zhao, YG., Cai, L. (2015). Oxidative Stress in Reproductive Toxicology. In: Roberts, S., Kehrer, J., Klotz, LO. (eds) Studies on Experimental Toxicology and Pharmacology. Oxidative Stress in Applied Basic Research and Clinical Practice. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19096-9_24

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