03 August 2025 : Review article
Mechanisms of Leydig Cell Aging and Obesity-Related Hypogonadism in Men: A Review
Xinshuang Huang AEF 1,2, Hui Zhao AEF 1,2, Xiaodong Wu F 1,2, Yun Liang F 3, Qingbo Guan AEG 1,2,4,5*, Dandan Luo AEG 1,2,4,5, Chunxiao Yu AEG 1,6,4,5DOI: 10.12659/MSM.948180
Med Sci Monit 2025; 31:e948180
Physiological Functions of Testicular Leydig Cells
Definition and Epidemiology of Late-Onset Hypogonadism (LOH)
Research on Testicular Leydig Cell Senescence and LOH
Research Advances in Mechanisms of Testicular Leydig Cell Senescence
Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Autophagy
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Stress
Treatment of LOH
Senolytic Therapy
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Treatment
Stem Cell Therapy
Treatment of Obesity-Related Hypogonadism
Outlook and Discussion
Conclusions
References
Figure 1 Mechanisms of testicular leydig cell senescence in obesity-related late-onset hypogonadism. Illustration: From left to right, they are endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), cellular senescence, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis injury, immune cell activation, autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction in sequence. In the middle is the process of obesity – aging – testicular Leydig cell dysfunction.