Dioscorea polystachya Turcz. attenuates male reproductive aging through modulation of mTOR-Beclin-1-mediated autophagy in Leydig and Sertoli cells

This study investigated the efficacy of Chinese yam protein extract (CYCSE) from Dioscorea polystachya in attenuating aging-related reproductive decline. In aged rats and D-galactose-induced senescent mouse Leydig and Sertoli cells, CYCSE ameliorated testicular histopathology, restored sperm parameters, increased testosterone levels, reduced senescence markers (SA-beta-gal, p16, p21, p53), and mitigated oxidative stress. TEM confirmed restored autophagic flux in senescent cells. Mechanistically, CYCSE restored autophagic activity via the mTOR-Beclin-1 signaling axis.

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Zhang, Y., Feng, J., Xie, T., Zhang, X., Pan, D., Liu, S., Zhao, D., Wang, S., Liu, M., & Yu, S. (2026). Dioscorea polystachya Turcz. attenuates male reproductive aging through modulation of mTOR-Beclin-1-mediated autophagy in Leydig and Sertoli cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2026.122304

@article{ZHANG2026B,
  author       = {Zhang, Y. and Feng, J. and Xie, T. and Zhang, X. and Pan, D. and Liu, S. and Zhao, D. and Wang, S. and Liu, M. and Yu, S.},
  title        = {{Dioscorea polystachya Turcz. attenuates male reproductive aging through modulation of mTOR-Beclin-1-mediated autophagy in Leydig and Sertoli cells}},
  journal      = {Journal of Ethnopharmacology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.jep.2026.122304},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record ZHANG2026B) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ZHANG2026B/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_ZHANG2026B,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record ZHANG2026B},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ZHANG2026B/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}