Testosterone, the male sex hormone associated with the development of distinct features in men during puberty such as the deepening of the voice and the growth of body and facial hair, has an important role in sex drive and sperm production. It also plays an important role in men's health. Men with low testosterone levels, for instance, are likely to develop certain health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression and erectile dysfunction.
Although the hormone appears to be most crucial after a man reaches puberty as it is associated with the development and maintenance of male physical and sexual characteristics, a new study suggests that testosterone exposure in the womb also plays an important role that can significantly affect a man's health when he reaches adulthood.
In a new study published in the in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) April 21, researchers said they discovered that low levels of testosterone in the womb could produce impaired and weakened Leydig cells.
Leydig cells produce the hormone testosterone in adults and develop from a specific group of stem cells in the testes. Although Leydig cells do not develop until puberty, their function is affected by exposure to testosterone in the womb. If the stem cells, which would later on develop as adult Leydig cells, were exposed to low levels of testosterone in the womb, their function becomes impaired.
Low testosterone level is linked to a number of unwanted health conditions. Men with low testosterone levels are more likely to develop diabetes and be more obese than men who have normal levels of the hormone. Because Leydig cells are associated with the production of testosterone, the findings of the study suggest that what happens during pregnancy can have an impact on a man's health later on in life.
"These studies highlight how a key component of male reproductive development can fundamentally reprogram adult hormone production (through an epigenetic change), which might affect lifetime disease risk," the researchers wrote.
Study researcher Richard Sharpe, from the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom said that a woman's diet, exposure to chemicals and drugs, and lifestyle during pregnancy are factors that affect the testosterone level in the womb.
