The Relationship Between Lifestyle and Male Fertility

Epidemiological research indicates that nutrition, especially micro-nutrients, physical activity, and lifestyle (diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption) could affect male fertility. To our knowledge, post-transcriptional regulation is one of the most important cellular processes to regulate gene expression in response to stimuli and environmental conditions at both states of health and pathologic condition. Moreover, microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may modify RNAs and proteins’ expression levels, and their functions could affect and/or improve male fertility. Interestingly, micro-nutrients, physical activity, and lifestyle could alter the biological pathways and regulate the expression level of the miRNAs and lncRNAs.

Numerous biological processes, including genomic imprinting, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and meiosis, are regulated by miRNAs and lncRNAs. Furthermore, miRNAs and lncRNAs have a role in various levels of gene expression regulation in spermatogenesis and in turn, can affect male fertility.

This Research Topic attempts to discuss insight into this network and determine the crucial factors interplaying between genes and non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs, miRNAs). The outcome of this Topic will provide valuable information on therapeutic approaches for alleviating male fertility.

This Research Topic will include (but is not limited to):

• The relationship between high-fat and western diets and male fertility

• The relationship between dietary polyphenols and male fertility

• The impact of physical activity and exercise on male fertility, including the relationship between high-intensity interval training and sprint interval training

• The effects of smoking and pollution, especially PM2.5 on male fertility

• The role of the long non-coding RNA and microRNA in male fertility

• Bioinformatic and chemoinformatic analysis of male fertility and reproductive health

• The impact of consumption of contaminated water on male infertility

• Improving the diagnosis and management of male infertility using proteomics, metabolomics and epigenetics

• The Impact of mycotoxins in foods on male infertility.

Keywords: Male fertility, Nutrition, Lifestyle, Physical activity, Reproductive Health, miRNAs, lncRNAs, Micro-nutrients, Gene expression, Diet, Smoking, Pollution, Bioinformatic, Contaminated water, Proteomics, Epigenetics, Mycotoxins

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.