Mevalonate pathway and male reproductive aging

Abstract

Male fertility declines with age. The mevalonate pathway, through which cholesterol and nonsteroidal isoprenoids are synthesized, plays key role in metabolic processes and is an essential pathway for cholesterol production and protein prenylation. Male reproductive aging is accompanied by dramatic changes in the metabolic microenvironment of the testis. Since the mevalonate pathway has an important role in spermatogenesis, we attempted to explore the association between male reproductive aging and the mevalonate pathway to explain the mechanism of male reproductive aging. Alterations in the mevalonate pathway may affect male reproductive aging by decreasing cholesterol synthesis and altering testis protein prenylation. Decreased cholesterol levels affect cholesterol modification, testosterone production, and remodeling of germ cell membranes. Aging-related metabolic disorders also affect the metabolic coupling between somatic cells and spermatogenic cells, leading to male fertility decline. Therefore, we hypothesized that alterations in the mevalonate pathway represent one of the metabolic causes of reproductive aging.