{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T22:29:47Z","timestamp":1788474587457,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,18]],"date-time":"2024-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1708214400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Male infertility may be caused by an impaired sperm functionality, with insufficient vitamin D levels affecting the quantity and development of motile sperm. Given the influence of vitamin D on vital aspects of male infertility, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between vitamin D levels and male infertility, along with exploring the possible mechanism of action. A total of 306 male participants were included. Semen samples were collected and analyzed for semen parameters with demographic features. Patients were classified into two groups based on vitamin D levels of &lt;20 ng\/mL (low) and \u226520 ng\/mL (high). The Super-PRED, Swiss TargetPrediction, GeneCards, and DisGeNET databases were utilized to retrieve potential molecular targets associated with both vitamin D and male infertility, while the STRING database was employed for constructing protein\u2013protein interaction (PPI) networks and conducting a functional enrichment analysis. A total of 146 patients (47.71%) showed low vitamin D levels and 160 patients (52.29%) had high vitamin D levels. Vitamin D was not strongly influenced by demographic parameters. Vitamin D demonstrated significant positive correlations with type A and B sperm motility. Conversely, it exhibited significant negative correlations with type C and D sperm motility. Hormones (thyroid-stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, estradiol) were not significantly associated with vitamin D; however, testosterone was significantly positive correlated with vitamin D. Notably, no significant correlation was found between vitamin D levels and iron, ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus levels. The functional annotations of potential vitamin D targets associated with male infertility primarily indicated involvement in regulating infection, the immune response, forkhead box O (FOXO) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) signals in male infertility. Adequate vitamin D levels are associated with an improved reproductive health, evidenced by positive correlations with hormone levels and sperm motility. Specifically, the FOXO and HIF-1 signaling pathways may be effective in the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of vitamin D on male infertility and\/or in the significant correlations identified.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life14020273","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,19]],"date-time":"2024-02-19T10:40:15Z","timestamp":1708339215000},"page":"273","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Investigation of Vitamin D Levels in Men with Suspected Infertility"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6384-9146","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"F\u0131rat","family":"A\u015f\u0131r","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbak\u0131r, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Senem \u00c7etin","family":"Duran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbak\u0131r, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammet","family":"Af\u015fin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Andrology, Health Sciences University, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, 21090 Diyarbakir, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Enis","family":"Duran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical Faculty, Van Y\u00fcz\u00fcnc\u00fc Y\u0131l University, 65000 Van, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tu\u011fcan","family":"Korak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Biology, Medical Faculty, Kocaeli University, 41001 Kocaeli, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F\u0131rat","family":"\u015eahin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty, Dicle University, 21280 Diyarbak\u0131r, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2800","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/dem299","article-title":"International Estimates of Infertility Prevalence and Treatment-Seeking: Potential Need and Demand for Infertility Medical Care","volume":"22","author":"Boivin","year":"2007","journal-title":"Hum. 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