Cadmium Impairs Human GnRH Neuron Development: Mechanistic Insights into Reproductive Dysfunction.

ABSTRACT: There is increasing evidence that exposure to environmental toxicants may impact fertility, especially during critical windows of reproductive axis development. Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, essential for puberty onset and fertility, originate from the olfactory placode and migrate toward the hypothalamus during development, making them particularly vulnerable to environmental insults. Cadmium (Cd), a widespread heavy metal, is well known for its gonadotoxicity, but its impact on human hypothalamic neuron development remains unclear. Using human fetal GnRH neuroblasts (FNCB4) we investigated the effects of Cd exposure on their morpho-functional and developmental features. Cd induced oxidative stress and COX2 mRNA upregulation, indicative of inflammatory pathwa

SUBMITTER: Guarnieri G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12897737 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature