High glucose levels affect spermatogenesis: an in vitro approach

Besides known factors that may cause male infertility, systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus may further exacerbate a decline in male fertility. This metabolic disease, clinically characterised by a hyperglycaemic phenotype, has devastating consequences in terms of human health, with reproductive dysfunction being one of the associated clinical complications. Nonetheless, the mechanisms responsible for such alterations are still poorly understood due to the multiplicity of factors involved in the induced pathophysiological changes. With this in mind, we focused on the main mediator of diabetes-associated alterations and performed an in vitro approach to address the effects of high glucose conditions on spermatogenesis, avoiding other confounding in vivo factors. Mouse (5 days post partum) testis fragments were cultured on agar gel stands at a gas-liquid interface with either 5, 25 or 50mM D-glucose for 3 weeks. Stereological analysis revealed that high D-glucose levels increased Sertoli cell number (P<0.05) and decreased tubular luminal area (P<0.01), suggesting an impairment of this somatic cell type. Moreover, higher proliferative activity in a TM4 Sertoli cell line exposed to high D-glucose was found (P<0.05) without compromising cell viability (P>0.05), further suggesting altered Sertoli cell maturation. Overall, high D-glucose concentrations may lead to impairment of Sertoli cell function, which, given their significant role in spermatogenic control, may compromise male fertility.