Ethanol‐induced mitophagy in rat Sertoli cells: Implications for male fertility

Summary Autophagy is a pro‐survival mechanism involving lysosomal degradation of damaged cellular components following multiple forms of cellular stress. There is currently a lack of literature on the mechanism, and specifically on mitophagy (selective autophagy of damaged pro‐apoptotic mitochondria) in Sertoli cells ( SC s). Against such a background, the authors induced mitophagy in SC s of adult male rats using a single injection of ethanol (5 g/kg) and observed mitophagy in the SC s via transmission electron microscopy 24 hr later. In addition, we briefly discussed the possible clinical implications of enhanced autophagy and mitophagy in stressed SC s in our model and in other models of acute stress (e.g., heat and transplantation stress). Further studies on SC autophagy are required, as a full understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling autophagy in stressed SC s may have therapeutic implications for infertility treatment.