Systemically, M1-skewed macrophage/microglia deliver nitric oxide (NO) to Leydig cells, shutting down AMPK/ULK1-S555 and activating mTOR/ULK1-S757, freezing lipophagy and causing hypogonadism; Scavenging NO (cPTIO) or ULK1 agonism reverses this (Zhuang et al., 2024). This evidence concerns the gene ULK1 and hypogonadism.