ArticleReproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E2018
Exogenous leptin affects sperm parameters and impairs blood testis barrier integrity in adult male mice.
Article in Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reversible azoospermia associated with the selective JAK1 inhibitor abrocitinib: a case report.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- Adipose-Specific Cytokines as Modulators of Reproductive Activity.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Roles of thyroid and leptin hormones and their crosstalk in male reproductive functions: an updated review.Endocrine · 2025Review
- The role of leptin in the male reproductive system.Journal of the Turkish German Gynecological Association · 2024Article
- Signatures of metabolic diseases on spermatogenesis and testicular metabolism.Nature reviews. Urology · 2024Review
- Molecular insights into Sertoli cell function: how do metabolic disorders in childhood and adolescence affect spermatogonial fate?Nature communications · 2024Review
- Effect of Metformin on Sertoli Cell Fatty Acid Metabolism and Blood-Testis Barrier Formation.Biology · 2024Article
- High fat diet-induced obesity prolongs critical stages of the spermatogenic cycle in a LdlrScientific reports · 2022Article
- Improving Gander Reproductive Efficacy in the Context of Globally Sustainable Goose Production.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Review
- miR-122-5p regulates the tight junction of the blood-testis barrier of mice via occludin : miR-122-5p can regulate the tight junction.Basic and clinical andrology · 2021Article
- The Importance of Leptin to Reproduction.Endocrinology · 2021Review
- Leptin promotes proliferation of neonatal mouse stem/progenitor spermatogonia.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2020Article
- Biological Network Model of Effect of Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia on Spermatogenesis in Rats.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2020Article
- Normalization of Testicular Steroidogenesis and Spermatogenesis in Male Rats with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus under the Conditions of Metformin Therapy.Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections · 2020Article
- Cross-talk between ER stress and mitochondrial pathway mediated adriamycin-induced testicular toxicity and DA-9401 modulate adriamycin-induced apoptosis in Sprague-Dawley rats.Cancer cell international · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSerum leptin levels are augmented in obese infertile men and in men with azoospermia. They also correlate inversely with sperm concentration, motility and normal forms. The mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of excess leptin on male reproductive function remain unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of exogenous leptin on sperm parameters in mice and to explore the underlying mechanisms.
methodsWe treated normal adult male mice with saline, 0.1, 0.5 or 3 mg/kg leptin daily for 2 weeks. After treatment, serum leptin levels, serum testosterone levels, sperm parameters and testicular cell apoptosis were evaluated. Blood testis barrier integrity and the expression of tight junction-associated proteins in testes were also assessed. We further verified the direct effects of leptin on tight junction-associated proteins in Sertoli cells and the possible leptin signaling pathways involved in this process.
resultsAfter treatment, there were no significant differences in body weights, reproductive organ weights, serum leptin levels and serum testosterone levels between leptin-treated mice and control mice. Administration of 3 mg/kg leptin reduced sperm concentration, motility and progressive motility while increasing the percentage of abnormal sperm and testicular cell apoptosis. Mice treated with 3 mg/kg leptin also had impaired blood testis barrier integrity, which was related to decreased tight junction-associated proteins in testes. Leptin directly reduced tight junction-associated proteins in Sertoli cells, JAK2/STAT, PI3K and ERK pathways were suggested to be involved in this process.
conclusionsExogenous leptin negatively affects sperm parameters and impairs blood testis barrier integrity in mice. Leptin reduced tight junction-associated proteins in Sertoli cells, indicating that leptin has a direct role in impairing blood testis barrier integrity. Given the function of blood testis barrier in maintaining normal spermatogenesis, leptin-induced blood testis barrier impairment may be one of the mechanisms contributing to male subfertility and infertility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.