Sperm glucose transport and metabolism in diabetic individuals

• The number of adolescents and young male adults with diabetes mellitus is rising.
• Birth rate decrease is intimately related with the incidence of diabetes mellitus.
• Glucose uptake and metabolism are highly deregulated in diabetic individuals.
• Diabetes mellitus modulates spermatozoa substrate consumption and/or production.

Individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) present marked reduction in sperm quality and higher DNA damage in spermatozoa, evidencing that this metabolic disorder impairs male fertility. These effects are related to defective testicular metabolic pathways and signaling, resulting in altered sperm metabolism. Spermatozoa metabolize several substrates to ensure energy supplies and any alteration in this feature compromise sperm quality. For ATP production, spermatozoa require substrate availability and the involvement of specific hexose membrane carriers. DM is known to modulate the spermatozoa substrate consumption and/or production due to altered glycolytic behavior. In fact, glucose uptake and metabolism is highly deregulated in diabetic individuals. Herein, we present an overview of the implications of DM in sperm glucose uptake and metabolism. The understanding of these processes is essential to identify key mechanisms associated with DM-related male (in)fertility. Moreover, it may contribute to the development of therapeutics to counteract the dysfunction induced by DM in sperm metabolism.

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