Astaxanthin Protects Steroidogenesis from Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Oxidative Stress in Mouse Leydig Cells

Marine Drugs

Jyun-Yuan Wang³  Yue-Jia Lee³  Mei-Chia Chou¹  Renin Chang⁴  Chih-Hsien Chiu³  Yao-Jen Liang²  Leang-Shin Wu³ 

[1] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Pingtung Branch, Pingtung 912, Taiwan; E-Mail:;Department and Institute of Life Science, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242, Taiwan; E-Mail:;Department of Animal Science and Technology, College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan; E-Mails:;Department of Emergency Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan; E-Mail:

关键词: astaxanthin;    steroidogenesis;    testosterone;    oxidative stress;    hydrogen peroxide;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md13031375

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Androgens, especially testosterone produced in Leydig cells, play an essential role in development of the male reproductive phenotype and fertility. However, testicular oxidative stress may cause a decline in testosterone production. Many antioxidants have been used as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers to eliminate oxidative stress to protect steroidogenesis. Astaxanthin (AST), a natural extract from algae and plants ubiquitous in the marine environment, has been shown to have antioxidant activity in many previous studies. In this study, we treated primary mouse Leydig cells or MA-10 cells with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to cause oxidative stress. Testosterone and progesterone production was suppressed and the expression of the mature (30 kDa) form of StAR protein was down-regulated in MA-10 cells by H₂O₂ and cAMP co-treatment. However, progesterone production and expression of mature StAR protein were restored in MA-10 cells by a one-hour pretreatment with AST. AST also reduced ROS levels in cells so that they were lower than the levels in untreated controls. These results provide additional evidence of the potential health benefits of AST as a potential food additive to ease oxidative stress.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.