review · Heliyon
Male infertility accounts for half of all cases among the estimated fifteen percent of couples dealing with infertility globally, often stemming from deficient or absent spermatozoa. Sperm production and reproductive capacity rely heavily on energy metabolism, where nutritional extremes such as caloric restriction, obesity, and overconsumption impair reproductive performance. Metabolic hormones, including insulin, leptin, and thyroid hormones, alongside mitochondrial function, regulate this connection. While mature sperm cells metabolise glucose directly to fuel essential processes such as hyperactivated motility, developing germ cells depend on Sertoli cells to provide lactate. In the absence of external energy substrates, spermatozoa rely on their internal lipid reserves. Because biological energy drives sperm activity through the female reproductive tract up to fertilisation, measuring glucose uptake and metabolism provides a valuable indicator for assessing male fertility potential.
Infertility affects millions of couples globally, with male reproductive health playing a central role. Understanding how diet, metabolic hormones, and cellular energy sources fuel sperm development and movement clarifies why lifestyle factors like nutrition influence fertility. This knowledge highlights the biological processes necessary for successful fertilisation, pointing towards potential markers for diagnosing reproductive challenges.
This early-stage review highlights glucose uptake and metabolism as potential physiological endpoints for evaluating male fertility. Clinical laboratories and reproductive health diagnostic developers could potentially use these metabolic mechanisms to design diagnostic assays for sperm viability. However, because the text outlines fundamental biological mechanisms rather than a tested product, any commercial application remains at a conceptual stage requiring laboratory validation and clinical trials.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Infertility has become a significant health burden around the globe as it is believed that 15 % of married couples struggle with infertility, with half of the problem accrued to the male. The issue of male infertility could be traced to insufficient or absence of spermatozoa. Glucose metabolism is essential for continued spermatogenesis and for the reproductive potential of sperm cells. Appropriate nutrition is critical in maintaining reproductive function as caloric restriction along with weight reduction, excessive food consumption and obesity are harmful to reproductive function. The link between metabolism and reproduction is tied to metabolic hormones like insulin, leptin and thyroid, extracellular environment, mitochondria function, nutrient substrate, availability, and environmental stressors. Although matured spermatozoa utilize glucose directly, it is not the preferred energy substrate for germ cells as they rely on Sertoli cells to supply lactate. The reproductive potential of sperm cells depends on certain modifications like hyperactivated motility, which is mainly dependent on glucose metabolism. Without other energy sources, spermatozoa utilize their internal lipid stores. The uptake and metabolism of glucose by sperm are essential endpoints for determining the potential fertility of male individuals. The biological energy in sperm cells fuels all the physiological processes they engage in, from their deposition in the female reproductive tract to the point where they fertilize an egg. This article thus reviews facts pertinent to the energy metabolism of male germ cells and Sertoli cells.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38591
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
