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S Chigurupati, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United States
T Son, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United States
D Hyun, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United States
J Lathia, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United States
M Mughal, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, United States
J Savell, Orlando Regional Health Care, Orlando, United States
S Li, Orlando Regional Health Care, Orlando, United States
N Ganji, University of Central Florida, Orlando, United States
S Chan, University of Central Florida, Orlando, United States
T Arumugam, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, United States
M Mattson, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, baltimore, 21224, United States

Correspondence: Mark Mattson, Email: mattsonm{at}grc.nia.nih.gov

Abstract

Regular exercise can counteract the adverse effects of aging on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. In males the normal aging process is associated with reductions in testosterone production and impaired spermatogenesis, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential modification by exercise are unknown. Here we report that lifelong regular exercise (running) protects the testes against the adverse effects of advancing age, and that this effect of running is associated with decreased amounts of oxidative damage to proteins, lipids and DNA in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Six month-old male mice were divided into a sedentary group and a group which ran an average of 1.75 km/day, until the mice reached the age of 20 months. Seminiferous tubules of runners exhibited a full complement of cells at different stages of the spermatogenic process and a clear central lumen with large numbers of spermatozoa, in contrast to sedentary mice which exhibited disorganized spermatogenic cells and lacked spermatocytes in a central lumen. Levels of protein carbonyls, nitrotyrosine, lipid peroxidation products and oxidatively modified DNA were significantly greater in spermatogenic and Leydig cells of sedentary mice compared to runners. These findings suggest that lifelong regular exercise suppresses aging of the testes by a mechanism that involves reduced oxidative damage to spermatogenic and Leydig cells.