Osteocalcin Levels Regulate Male Fertility Via Testosterone Levels

RoseTracker| Believing that interactions between male gonads and bone mass are a two-way street, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center say that male bone mass regulates fertility in mice through a hormone released by bone, known as osteocalcin.

Researching mice, Dr Gerard Karsenty and his team showed that osteocalcin enhances the production of testosterone, the control factor on male fertility. In the beginning of his research, Dr Karsenty expected a positive linkage between osteocalcin and female fertility. via Nature.com

Osteocalcin doesn’t impact female estrogen levels, even though when ovaries stop producing estrogen in women, bone mass declines rapidly without aggressive moves like weight training to try to counteract Mother Nature.

Dr Karsenty does believe his findings connecting bone mass and osteocalcin levels to male fertility will apply to humans also. The article doesn’t address the question of osteocalcin levels in women and testosterone, given the focus was fertility.

A logical question to ask concerns osteocalcin in women and testosterone levels. Could weight training and the promotion of good bone health have any impact on female libido?

Osteocalcin and Blood Sugar

This summer Dr Karsenty released research identifying a tight connection between energy metabolism, osteocalcin and blood glucose levels. His research also pointed out that most drugs developed to treat osteoporosis work to inhibit bone resorption, potentially triggering diabetes and glucose intolerance in some patients.

Osteocalcin Levels, Weight Loss and Weight Training

In a 2009 study, weight training after a mean weight loss of only 8.7% in the study group had pronounced effects on osteocalcin levels, compared to a control group that had a mean weight loss of 7.3%.