REVIEW ARTICLE
Recent Updates on the Effect of Endocrine Disruptors on Male Reproductive Functions
Roshini Rajendran1, Latchoumycandane Calivarathan1, Premendu Prakash Mathur2, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 9
E-location ID: e187422032208180
Publisher ID: e187422032208180
DOI: 10.2174/18742203-v9-e2208180
Article History:
Received Date: 7/2/2022Revision Received Date: 26/4/2022
Acceptance Date: 16/6/2022
Electronic publication date: 25/10/2022
Collection year: 2022
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Endocrine disruptors are man-made or naturally occurring chemical substances, upon exposure, alter the male reproductive health by interfering with hormonal homeostasis and spermatogenesis. Several studies have supported the hypothesis that a decrease in sperm count over the past few decades is due to exposure to environmental contaminants possessing estrogenic or anti-androgenic properties. Bisphenol A, phthalates, alkylphenols, and polychlorinated biphenyls are some of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonly present in our day-to-day products that have been shown to pose a significant threat to reproductive health. Many chemicals directly or indirectly affect the endocrine systems, altering metabolism, sex differentiation, growth, stress response, gender behavior, and reproduction. The endocrine pathway disruption is possible via membrane receptors or nuclear receptors and inhibition of enzymatic pathways. The declining male reproductive health has been linked to an increased presence of chemical contaminants in our environment in the form of pesticides and plastics. The effect of endocrine disruptors on reproductive health remains a real issue considering public health. This review gives a recent update on environmental chemicals that have endocrine-disrupting potential and their effect on the male reproductive system.
