Open Access

REVIEW

Seminal plasma adipokines: involvement in human reproductive functions

Yaelle Elfassy^1,2,a, Chloe McAvoy^2,a, Soraya Fellahi^2,3, Joëlle Dupont⁴, Bruno Fève^2,5, Rachel Levy^1,2, Jean-Philippe Bastard^2,3

1 Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Tenon, Service de Biologie de la Reproduction, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, Paris, France
2 Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, INSERM UMRS_938, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, IHU ICAN, Paris, France
3 Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Tenon, UF Biomarqueurs Inflammatoires et Métaboliques, Service de Biochimie et Hormonologie, Paris, France
4 INRA, UMR85, Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Nouzilly, France
5 Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Service d’Endocrinologie, Paris, France

European Cytokine Network 2017, 28(4), 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1684/ecn.2018.0403

Accepted 23 October 2017;

Abstract

Infertility, which increased worldwide over the past few decades, has recently been linked to obesity prevalence. Adipokines, produced by adipose tissue, could be the link between obesity and infertility. The association between circulating adipokines and female infertility has been extensively studied in the last ten years. However, the male aspect has been less investigated, although some adipokines are present in seminal plasma. We have attempted to analyze published studies that measured seminal plasma adipokines and their relationships with semen parameters. Apart from leptin, other seminal adipokines have rarely been studied. Indeed, leptin seems to have a differential role depending on its concentration in the seminal plasma. Thus, it could have a beneficial effect at lower concentrations but a deleterious effect at higher seminal levels. Although some studies are currently available, the roles of leptin and other adipokines in seminal plasma on sperm parameters and their consequences on male fertility remain to be clarified.

---

Keywords

---