Vitamin D metabolism, sex hormones, and male reproductive function

Reproduction August 1, 2012 144 135-152
Martin Blomberg Jensen blombergjensen at gmail.com
University Department of Growth and Reproduction,
Rigshospitalet, Section 5064, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

The spectrum of vitamin D (VD)-mediated effects has expanded in recent years, and VD is now recognized as a versatile signaling molecule rather than being solely a regulator of bone health and calcium homeostasis. One of the recently identified target areas of VD is male reproductive function. The VD receptor (VDR) and the VD metabolizing enzyme expression studies documented the presence of this system in the testes, mature spermatozoa, and ejaculatory tract, suggesting that both systemic and local VD metabolism may influence male reproductive function. However, it is still debated which cell is the main VD target in the testis and to what extent VD is important for sex hormone production and function of spermatozoa.

This review summarizes descriptive studies on testicular VD metabolism and spatial distribution of VDR and the VD metabolizing enzymes in the mammalian testes and discusses mechanistic and association studies conducted in animals and humans. The reviewed evidence suggests some effects of VD on estrogen and testosterone biosynthesis and implicates involvement of both systemic and local VD metabolism in the regulation of male fertility potential.

Received 27 February 2012, 2012 Society for Reproduction and Fertility

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A portion of Table: 2 Rats from 1992 data

Variable	lots of D	little D
Positive sperm smear/day	0.20	0.11
Females giving birth to normal litters	32	20
Pregnancies per day	0.15	0.04
Mean litter size	12.6	10.4

See also Vitamin D Life

• All items in category Fertility and sperm 109 items
• Vitamin D and fertility: a systematic review – May 2012 males and females with lots of graphs
• Testosterone increased with daily 3332 IU vitamin D – Dec 2010
• Clinical Trial vitamin D levels and IVF success – May 2011 good overview
• Hypothesis – Fatigue the day after sex is due to deficiency of vitamin D or Magnesium
• Vitamin D - roles in women's reproductive health - Nov 2011
• Vitamin D increases sperm motility – Aug 2011
• More vitamin D associated with better sperm – May 2011
• Male fertility is improved in many ways by vitamin D – Jan 2014 same author, later publication
• Overview Conception and vitamin D
  Vitamin D increases fertility of BOTH the man and the woman.
  Each 1 ng increase in blood level of vitamin D increases fertility by 1%.
  You may not have heard much about it since it was was patented back in 1990.
  Vitamin D has been used by zoos and vets for a long time.