title: [Lipopolysaccharide affects male reproductive function through Toll-like receptors].
abstract: Reproductive tract infection is one of the factors of male infertility, but the mechanisms responsible are hitherto poorly defined. Recent studies show that one of the microbial pattern-recognition receptors, Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway, plays a critical role in inflammation-induced male infertility. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component in the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, could induce inflammatory response through TLRs. A large number of researches suggest that TLRs express widely in the male reproductive tract and LPS-induced inflammatory reaction through TLRs may affect male fertility. This article presents an overview on how LPS-induced inflammation through TLRs affects male fertility in terms of its influence on the testis, epididymis and sperm quality.
authors: Department of Andrology, Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Region, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210002, China. zhanxuxin3968@163.com
authors: Xu-Xin
authors: XX
authors: Zhan
authors: Xing-Rong
authors: XR
authors: Qing
authors: Xue-Jun
authors: XJ
authors: Shang
authors: Yu-Feng
authors: YF
authors: Huang
mesh_terms: D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007249:Inflammation; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors