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Chronic circadian desynchrony disrupts stage-specific spermiogenesis and male fertility

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Circadian disruption is increasingly associated with male reproductive dysfunction, yet the developmental stages underlying this relationship remain poorly defined. We investigated whether chronic circadian desynchrony disrupts the stage-specific molecular and bioenergetic organization of spermiogenesis and compromises male fertility. Adult Wistar rats were maintained under a standard light-dark cycle or exposed for two months to repeated cycles of constant light, constant darkness, and light-dark conditions. Round spermatids, elongated spermatids, and epididymal spermatozoa were analyzed for clock and mitochondria-related gene expression and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Under control conditions, spermiogenesis exhibited coordinated stage- and time-dependent transcriptional and bioenergetic organization, with developing spermatids relying predominantly on oxidative phosphorylation. Circadian desynchrony reduced circulating testosterone and the abundance of elongated spermatids and disturbed stage-specific clock and mitochondrial gene expression, with the most pronounced transcriptional alterations in elongated spermatids. Bioenergetic responses were also stage dependent: ATP production increased in round spermatids but decreased in elongated spermatids and spermatozoa, accompanied by altered mitochondrial homeostasis. Circadian desynchrony also impaired progesterone-induced acrosome reaction and reduced reproductive success. These findings identify spermiogenesis as a circadian-sensitive developmental process and highlight elongated spermatids as a particularly vulnerable stage linking disrupted temporal organization and mitochondrial dysfunction to impaired male fertility.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-80046-7
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
OpenAlex ID: W7204473744
FWCI:
Cites: 50
Cited by:
Related to: 10