Lifelong running reduces oxidative stress and degenerative changes in the testes of mice.
Regular exercise can counteract the adverse effects of aging on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. In males, the normal aging process is associated with reductions in testosterone production and impaired spermatogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential modification by exercise are unknown. Here, we report that lifelong regular exercise (running) protects the testes against the adverse effects of advancing age, and that this effect of running is associated with decreased amounts of oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Six-month-old male mice were divided into a sedentary group and a group that ran an average of 1.75 km/day, until the mice reached the age of 20 months. Seminiferous tubules of runners exhibited a full complement of cells at different stages of the spermatogenic process and a clear central lumen with large numbers of spermatozoa, in contrast to sedentary mice that exhibited disorganized spermatogenic cells and lacked spermatocytes in a central lumen. Levels of protein carbonyls, nitrotyrosine, lipid peroxidation products, and oxidatively modified DNA were significantly greater in spermatogenic and Leydig cells of sedentary mice compared with runners. These findings suggest that lifelong regular exercise suppresses aging of testes by a mechanism that involves reduced oxidative damage to spermatogenic and Leydig cells.
Chigurupati
Srinivasulu
S
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
Son
Tae Gen
TG
Hyun
Dong-Hoon
DH
Lathia
Justin D
JD
Mughal
Mohamed R
MR
Savell
Jason
J
Li
Shuan C
SC
Nagaraju
G P C
GP
Chan
Sic L
SL
Arumugam
Thiruma V
TV
Mattson
Mark P
MP
D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000166:cytology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000166:cytology; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism
D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine; D006657:Histones; D013739:Testosterone; D014443:Tyrosine; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; C475961:gamma-H2AX protein, mouse