Estrogen promotes Leydig cell engulfment by macrophages in male infertility.

ABSTRACT: Male infertility accounts for almost half of infertility cases worldwide. A subset of infertile men exhibit reduced testosterone and enhanced levels of estradiol (E2), though it is unclear how increased E2 promotes deterioration of male fertility. Here, we utilized a transgenic mouse strain that overexpresses human CYP19, which encodes aromatase (AROM+ mice), and mice with knockout of Esr1, encoding estrogen receptor α (ERαKO mice), to analyze interactions between viable Leydig cells (LCs) and testicular macrophages that may lead to male infertility. In AROM+ males, enhanced E2 promoted LC hyperplasia and macrophage activation via ERα signaling. E2 stimulated LCs to produce growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS6), which mediates phagocytosis of apoptotic cells by bridging cells with surface expose

SUBMITTER: Yu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4038558 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature