Overview
- The study, which was published on Wednesday, exposed mice to lower and higher doses of cigarette smoke extract for 12 weeks and then measured gene activity and tissue structure in ovaries and testes.
- In female mice the number and shape of ovarian follicles stayed largely intact while gene activity shifted toward patterns associated with ovarian ageing and reduced function.
- In male mice higher smoke exposure was tied to visible enlargement of seminiferous tubules and changes in genes that control sperm production, immune signalling, and cell communication.
- Authors from the Universities of Nottingham and Sheffield say the findings identify candidate biological mechanisms linking smoking to reproductive harm but stress that mouse results do not prove the same effects occur in humans.
- The results build on decades of human research showing smoking is linked to poorer sperm quality and reproductive outcomes and suggest quitting could have benefits for people trying to conceive if future human studies confirm these pathways.