Honggang Li

Qing Chen

Rossella Cannarella

Yankai Xia

Frontiers in Endocrinology

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Frontiers in EndocrinologyOPEN ACCESSEDITED AND REVIEWED BYSandro C. Esteves,Androfert, Andrology and HumanReproduction Clinic, Brazil*CORRESPONDENCERossella Cannarellarossella.cannarella@phd.unict.itRECEIVED 26 June 2023ACCEPTED 07 July 2023PUBLISHED 24 July 2023CITATIONChen Q, Xia Y, Li H and Cannarella R(2023) Editorial: Disruptors on malereproduction—emerging riskfactors, volume II.Front. Endocrinol. 14:1247971.doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1247971COPYRIGHT© 2023 Chen, Xia, Li and Cannarella. This isan open-access article distributed under theterms of the Creative Commons AttributionLicense (CC BY). The use, distribution orreproduction in other forums is permitted,provided the original author(s) and thecopyright owner(s) are credited and thatthe original publication in this journal iscited, in accordance with acceptedacademic practice. No use, distribution orreproduction is permitted which does notcomply with these terms.TYPE EditorialPUBLISHED 24 July 2023DOI 10.3389/fendo.2023.1247971Editorial: Disruptors on malereproduction—emerging riskfactors, volume IIQing Chen1, Yankai Xia2, Honggang Li3and Rossella Cannarella4,5*1Key Lab of Medical Protection for Electromagnetic Radiation, Ministry of Education of China, Institute ofToxicology, College of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University),Chongqing, China, 2Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of PublicHealth, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, 3Institute of Reproductive Health/Center ofReproductive Medicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, 4Departmentof Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy, 5Glickman Urology andKidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United StatesKEYWORDSdisruptor, environment, male infertility, decline, spermEditorial on the Research TopicDisruptors on male reproduction—emerging risk factors, volume IICouple infertility represents a significant public issue affecting the health and financial,psychological, and social aspects of childbearing-aged couples. As reported by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO), the number of infertile couples was 48 million in 2010 (1);thus, the current prevalence could be higher. In approximately half of these couples, a maleinfertility factor is identified, consistently with the presence of abnormal sperm parameters,such as abnormal number, motility, and/or morphology.Epidemiological data indicate an increase in the prevalence of male infertility globally. Thelatest meta-regression analysis examining the sperm parameters of healthy subjects from allover the world reported that sperm concentration and total sperm count have halved in the last40 years, with a higher slope after the 2000s (2). There is no apparent explanation for thisevidence. Although some hypotheses have been suggested, no cause-effect relationship has beendemonstrated so far. In addition, some research suggests that, despite a comprehensivediagnostic workup, there is no apparent explanation for male infertility in up to 70% ofcases (3, 4), although this may be an overestimated data. Furthermore, considering theassociation between poor sperm quality and the greater risk of hospitalization, diabetes,cardiovascular disease, morbidity, mortality (5, 6), and cancer (7), the urgent need to betterunderstand the etiology of male infertility and its correct treatment is easily understood.Based on these premises, we launched this Research Topic in an attempt to collect evidenceon disrupting molecules, which can – at least partially, explain the abovementioned data.Some researchers tried to find the causes of the reduction in sperm counts inenvironmental pollution and its increase over the decades. Arato et al. investigated theeffect of nickel oxide nanoparticles in porcine prepubertal Sertoli cells in vitro. They founda disruption in the cell function, proven by the altered expression and secretion of Anti-Müllerian Hormone and Inhibin B, MAPK signaling pathway, and cell viability, assupported by the increase in oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis. Thesefrontiersin.org01Chen et al. 10.3389/fendo.2023.1247971findings are interesting, considering that apoptosis of immatureprepubertal Sertoli cells in childhood and adolescence can explain areduced sperm count in adulthood since these cells lose the abilityto proliferate after puberty (8).Circadian rhythm has also been questioned as possibly beinginvolved in male infertility. This represents an underestimated andscantily studied issue, deserving of more attention. An overview ofthe mechanisms by which abnormal circadian rhythm can disturbthe hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis is provided in the articleby Li et al. Another topic on which there is scant information is therelationship between snoring and erectile dysfunction. Interestingly,Xiong et al. reported genetic evidence for the possible causalrelationship between these two conditions.Metabolic disorders have also been investigated in an attempt tounderstand their role in the downward trend of sperm count (9).Majzoub et al. focused on the impact of body composition on malesexual function and found a negative correlation between metabolicage, body weight, and fat composition with testosterone level andthe International Index of Erectile Function 5-item score, insubjects younger than 40 years old. Tavlo et al. hypothesized therole of metformin as a reproductive toxicant, based on the availableevidence already present on this drug, but also on its presence,documented globally, in freshwater and even drinking water.Xiong et al. investigated the epigenetic profile of 36 patients withidiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), reporting a dose-depended decrease in the global N6-metyladenosine (m6A)methylation, in patients with a higher degree of severity of thetesticular histology (normal spermatogenesis, hypospermatogenesis,maturation arrest, and Sertoli-cell only syndrome). They alsoreported four downregulated genes that showed a significantlylower expression of m6A methylation.Sperm DNA damage is a biofunctional marker of semen qualityand it has recently been included in the latest WHO manual, due tothe large number of data documenting its role in fertility. SpermDNA fragmentation is the subject of two articles published in thisResearch Topic, both by Zhu et al.Frontiers in Endocrinology 02Despite its increasing prevalence, management of maleinfertility is expensive for the patient, and patients often cannotafford the diagnostic and therapeutic workup required. The articleby Wang et al. provides a feasibility analysis of incorporatinginfertility into medical insurance in China and underlies thechallenges in undertaking assisted reproductive techniques fromthe patient’s perspective.Finally, research is urgently needed to understand the etiologyof apparently idiopathic forms of male infertility, as well as thedecline in sperm counts. This Research Topic attempts to partiallyundertake these aspects, although a huge amount of work still needsto be done. We are thankful to the authors who submitted theirvaluable research to our Research Topic.Author contributionsAll authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectualcontribution to the work and approved it for publication.Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could beconstrued as a potential conflict of interest.Publisher’s noteAll claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authorsand do not necessarily represent those of their affiliatedorganizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and thereviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, orclaim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed orendorsed by the publisher.References1. Mascarenhas MN, Flaxman SR, Boerma T, Vanderpoel S, Stevens GA. National,regional, and global trends in infertility prevalence since 1990: A systematic analysis of277 health surveys. PloS Med (2012) 9:e1001356. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.10013562. Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, Mendiola J, Weksler-Derri D, JollesM, et al. Temporal trends in sperm count: A systematic review and meta-regressionanalysis of samples collected globally in the 20th and 21st centuries. Hum ReprodUpdate (2022) 29(2):157–176. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmac0353. Tüttelmann F, Ruckert C, Röpke A. Disorders of spermatogenesis. MedizinischeGenetik (2018) 30:12–20. doi: 10.1007/s11825-018-0181-74. Punab M, Poolamets O, Paju P, Vihljajev V, Pomm K, Ladva R, et al. Causes ofmale infertility: A 9-year prospective monocentre study on 1737 patients with reducedtotal sperm counts. Hum Reprod (2016) 32(1):18–31. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dew2845. Latif T, Kold Jensen T, Mehlsen J, Holmboe SA, Brinth L, Pors K, et al. Semenquality as a predictor of subsequent morbidity: A danish cohort study of 4,712 menwith long-term follow-up. Am J Epidemiol (2017) 186:910–7. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx0676. del Giudice F, Kasman AM, Li S, Belladelli F, Ferro M, de Cobelli O, et al.Increased mortality among men diagnosed with impaired fertility: analysis of US claimsdata. Urology (2021) 147:143–9. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2020.07.0877. Hanson BM, Eisenberg ML, Hotaling JM. Male infertility: A biomarker ofindividual and familial cancer risk. Fertil Steril (2018) 109:6–19. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.11.0058. CondorelliRA,CannarellaR,CalogeroAE,LaVigneraS.Evaluationoftesticularfunctionin prepubertal children. Endocrine. (2018) 62(2):274–80. doi: 10.1007/s12020-018-1670-99. Cannarella R, Caruso M, Condorelli RA, Timpanaro TA, Caruso MA, La VigneraS, et al. Testicular volume in 268 children and adolescents followed-up for childhoodobesity-a retrospective cross-sectional study. Eur J Endocrinol (2023) 188(4):331–42.doi: 10.1093/ejendo/lvad033frontiersin.org

Editorial: Disruptors on male reproduction—emerging risk factors, volume II

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Editorial: Disruptors on male reproduction—emerging risk factors, volume II

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