The human reproduction involves a cascade of complex events that is controlled by several social, biological, and environmental factors. Environmental factors include heavy metals such as arsenic and lead (1–3), pesticides (4), industrial chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A (5–7), infection (8), and endocrine disruptors which include pharmaceuticals (9). Environmental toxicants disrupt menstrual cycles, and reduce ovarian reserve and oocyte quality (10, 11). These toxicants also reduce circulating testosterone and sperm quality (12).
More so, these stressors iinfluence pregnancy outcomes. They induce miscarriage and stillbirth, birth defects, preterm birth and low birth weight, and neurodevelopmental disorders (13, 14).
These environmental stressors act via multiple pathways. First, they disrupt the endocrine system by mimicking or blocking sex hormones (15). They may also induce oxidative stress by upregulating the generation of free radicals and suppressing antioxidants (16, 17), trigger inflammation and immune response (18, 19), and promote genotoxicity (20). This Research Topic provides emerging evidences linking environmental toxicants with human reproduction.
Wu et al. reviews the impact of taxanes on ovarian function in women and analyzed the possible reasons for different outcomes. They reported that taxanes-induced ovarian damage is associated with abnormal cell division, follicular cell apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species accumulation. Pan et al. observed an inverted U-shaped association of blood lead levels with oestrogen and a U-shaped association between blood lead levels and sex hormone-binding globulin in female adolescent, indicating that adjusting blood lead exposure to mitigate the effects of lead on growth and development is important for adolescents. He and Wan demonstrated a positive association between smoking and elevated infertility risk.
In a meta-analysis by Hamed et al., it was observed that organophosphate pesticides reduced sperm quality via a testosterone-independent mechanism. Odetayo et al. reported that omega 3 fatty acid attenuated bisphenol F-induced reductions in testosterone and sperm quality by downregulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. Sustarsic et al. observed in a meta-analysis that lifestyle intervention may be beneficial in overweight and obese women diagnosed with infertility by improving ovulation, chances of pregnancy, and rate of live births.
Yao et al. demonstrated a positive association between phthalate exposure and antral follicular count, suggesting that this plasticizer may promote primordial follicle recruitment and depletion of ovarian reserve. Wang et al. demonstrated an inverse association between Life’s simple 7 (LS7) metric scores and infertility. They showed that higher LS7 scores are associated with reduced fertility among women between 18 and 44 years. This finding provides a novel evidence linking cardiovascular status with reproductive health. Qi et al. observed a positive correlation between higher dietary inflammatory index (DII) score and female infertility.
Although SARS-CoV-2 remains quite novel, convincing evidences have been provided on its possible link with infertility (21, 22). Hu et al. showed that asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection during controlled ovarian stimulation had no adverse effect on assisted reproductive technique outcome. Although they observed mild inflammation in the serum, this was absent in the follicular fluid of the subjects. Liprino et al. showed that phase angle is positively associated with low sperm quality. This confirms the reliability of phase angle as a marker of membrane integrity (23). Yu et al. provided a review on the role of epigenetics in female reproduction. They revealed that environmental toxicants impair female reproductive functions via the induction of epigenetic modification.
Summing up, this Research Topic provides interesting data, from experimental to clinical and meta-analysis, demonstrating the influence of environmental stress on human reproduction.
Statements
Author contributions
RA: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1
BesongEEAshonibarePJObembeOOFolawiyoMAAdeyemiDHHamedMAet al. Zinc protects against lead-induced testicular damage via modulation of steroidogenic and xanthine oxidase/uric acid/caspase 3-mediated apoptotic signaling in male Wistar rats. Aging Male. (2023) 26:2224428. doi:Â 10.1080/13685538.2023.2224428
2
AdeogunAEOgunleyeODAkhigbeTMOyedokunPAAdegbolaCASakaWAet al. Impact of arsenic on male and female reproductive function: a review of the pathophysiology and potential therapeutic strategies. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Arch Pharmacol. (2024), 1–15. doi: 10.1007/s00210-024-03452-6
3
AkhigbeREAkhigbeTMAdegbolaCAOyedokunPAAdesoyeOBAdeogunAE. Toxic impacts of arsenic bioaccumulation on urinary arsenic metabolites and semen quality: a systematic and meta-analysis. Ecotoxicology Environ Saf. (2024) 281:116645. doi:Â 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116645
4
AkhigbeREOyedokunPAAkhigbeTMAdenikeSOladipoAAHughesJR. Does pyrethroid exposure lower human semen quality? a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Toxicol. (2024) 6:1395010. doi:Â 10.3389/ftox.2024.1395010
5
CastelliniCTotaroMParisiAD’AndreaSLucenteLCordeschiGet al. Bisphenol A and male fertility: Myths and realities. Front Endocrinol. (2020) 11:353. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00353
6
KhasinLGDella RosaJPetersenNMoellerJKriegsfeldLJLishkoPV. The impact of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate on sperm fertility. Front Cell Dev Biol. (2020) 8:426. doi:Â 10.3389/fcell.2020.00426
7
PivonelloCMuscogiuriGNardoneAGarifalosFProvvisieroDPVerdeNet al. Bisphenol A: an emerging threat to female fertility. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. (2020) 18:1–33. doi: 10.1186/s12958-019-0558-8
8
AshonibareVJAshonibarePJAkhigbeREAkhigbeRE. SARS-CoV-2 impairs male fertility by targeting semen quality and testosterone level: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. (2024) 19:e0307396. doi:Â 10.1371/journal.pone.0307396
9
AkhigbeREAkhigbeTMOyedokunPAFamurewaAC. Molecular mechanisms underpinning the protection against antiretroviral drug-induced sperm-endocrine aberrations and testicular toxicity: A review. Reprod Toxicol. (2024), 108629. doi:Â 10.1016/j.reprotox.2024.108629
10
KrisherRL. In vivo and in vitro environmental effects on mammalian oocyte quality. Annu Rev Anim. Biosci. (2013) 1:393–417. doi: 10.1146/annurev-animal-031412-103647
11
GeWLiLDycePWDe FeliciMShenW. Establishment and depletion of the ovarian reserve: physiology and impact of environmental chemicals. Cell Mol Life Sci. (2019) 76:1729–46. doi: 10.1007/s00018-019-03028-1
12
KumarNSinghAK. Impact of environmental factors on human semen quality and male fertility: a narrative review. Environ Sci Europe. (2022) 34:1–13. doi: 10.1186/s12302-021-00585-w
13
AmadiCNIgwezeZNOrisakweOE. Heavy metals in miscarriages and stillbirths in developing nations. Middle East Fertility Soc J. (2017) 22:91–100. doi: 10.1016/j.mefs.2017.03.003
14
BeamesTGLipinskiRJ. Gene-environment interactions: aligning birth defects research with complex etiology. Development. (2020) 147:dev191064. doi:Â 10.1242/dev.191064
15
AkhigbeREAfolabiOAAjayiAF. L-Arginine reverses maternal and pre-pubertal codeine exposure-induced sexual dysfunction via upregulation of androgen receptor gene and NO/cGMP signaling. PLoS One. (2022) 17:e0274411. doi:Â 10.1371/journal.pone.0274411
16
KumarSBDadaRGuptaNP. Environmental toxicants–induced male reproductive toxicity: role of oxidative stress. In: Bioenvironmental Issues Affecting Men’s Reproductive and Sexual Health. Eds: Sikka SC, Hellstrom JG. Academic Press(An imprint of Elsevier, UK) (2018). p. 305–22.
17
AkhigbeREHamedMAAremuAO. HAART exacerbates testicular damage and impaired spermatogenesis in anti-Koch-treated rats via dysregulation of lactate transport and glutathione content. Reprod Toxicol. (2021) 103:96–107. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2021.06.007
18
AshonibareVJAkoredeBAAshonibarePJAkhigbeTMAkhigbeRE. Gut microbiota-gonadal axis: the impact of gut microbiota on reproductive functions. Front Immunol. (2024) 15:1346035. doi:Â 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1346035
19
LiHWangXRHuYFXiongYWZhuHLHuangYCet al. Advances in immunology of male reproductive toxicity induced by common environmental pollutants. Environ Int. (2024) 108898. doi:Â 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108898
20
ChoudhuriSKaurTJainSSharmaCAsthanaS. A review on genotoxicity in connection to infertility and cancer. Chemico-Biological Interact. (2021) 345:109531. doi:Â 10.1016/j.cbi.2021.109531
21
AkhigbeREHamedMA. Possible links between COVID-19 and male fertility. Asian Pacific J Reprod. (2020) 9:211–4. doi: 10.4103/2305-0500.294662
22
AdeyemiDHOdetayoAFHamedMAAkhigbeRE. Impact of COVID 19 on erectile function. Aging Male. (2022) 25:202–16. doi: 10.1080/13685538.2022.2104833
23
WardLCBrantlovS. Bioimpedance basics and phase angle fundamentals. Rev Endocrine Metab Disord. (2023) 24:381–91. doi: 10.1007/s11154-022-09780-3
Summary
Keywords
environmental toxicant, environmental stressors, oxidative stress, epigenetics, inflammation, apoptosis
Citation
Akhigbe RE (2024) Editorial: Environmental threats to human reproduction. Front. Endocrinol. 15:1517200. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1517200
Received
25 October 2024
Accepted
21 November 2024
Published
02 December 2024
Volume
15 - 2024
Edited and reviewed by
Claus Yding Andersen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Updates
Copyright
© 2024 Akhigbe.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Roland E. Akhigbe, akhigberoland@gmail.com
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.