Although sexual health is affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD), the effect on testicular health and/or sperm quality is not well discussed. After 21 days of rotenone lesioning, we observed dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra and hypothalamus. There were minimal SPACA-1-expressing epididymal spermatozoa with morphological abnormalities, scanty luminal spermatozoa and reduced testicular spermatids and post-meiotic germ cells indicating hypospermatogenesis. Occludin-expressing sertoli cells were dispersed over a wide area indicating compromised blood-testes barrier. Activated caspase-3 expression was intense while immunoreactivity of spermatogenic-enhancing SRY and GADD45 g was weak. Although serum follicle stimulating hormone level was not affected, the lesion was associated with reduced serum testosterone level, testicular oxidative damage and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity, even when rotenone was not detected in the testes. Together, dopaminergic lesions may mediate testicular and sperm abnormalities via the brain-hypothalamic-testicular circuit independent of the pituitary, thereby establishing a causal link between Parkinsonism and reproductive dysfunction.

尽管性健康受到帕金森氏病（PD）的影响，但对睾丸健康和/或精子质量的影响尚未得到很好的讨论。鱼藤酮损伤21天后，我们观察到黑质和下丘脑多巴胺能神经元变性。极少有表达SPACA-1的附睾精子，形态异常，管腔精子少，睾丸精子减少，减数分裂后的生殖细胞减少，说明精子发生少。表达Occludin的sertoli细胞分散在很宽的区域，表明血液-睾丸屏障受损。激活caspase-3的表达很强，而增强生精能力的SRY和GADD45 g的免疫反应性很弱。尽管血清卵泡刺激素水平未受影响，但病变与血清睾丸激素水平降低有关，即使在睾丸中未检测到鱼藤酮，睾丸的氧化损伤和乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的抑制。多巴胺能性病变共同可能通过独立于垂体的脑下丘脑-睾丸回路介导睾丸和精子异常，从而在帕金森氏症和生殖功能障碍之间建立因果关系。