Effects of saturated palmitic acid and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on Sertoli cell apoptosis.

Effects of saturated palmitic acid and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on Sertoli cell apoptosis. Syst Biol Reprod Med. 2018 May 25;:1-13 Authors: Hu X, Ge X, Liang W, Shao Y, Jing J, Wang C, Zeng R, Yao B Abstract Obesity is believed to negatively affect male semen quality and is accompanied by dysregulation of free fatty acid (FFA) metabolism in plasma. However, the implication of dysregulated FFA on semen quality and the involvement of Sertoli cells remain unclear. In the present study, we report obesity decreased Sertoli cell viability through dysregulated FFAs. We observed an increased rate of apoptosis in Sertoli cells, accompanied with elevated FFA levels, in the testes of obese mice that were provided a high-fat diet (HFD). Moreover, the levels of reactive oxygen species were elevated. Furthermore, we demonstrated by in vitro assays that saturated palmitic acid (PA), which is the most common saturated FFA in plasma, led to decreased cell viability of TM4 Sertoli cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. A similar finding was noted in primary mouse Sertoli cells. In contrast to saturated FFA, omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) protected Sertoli cells from PA-induced lipotoxicity at the physiologically relevant levels. These results indicated that the lipotoxicity of saturated fatty acids might be the cause of obesity-induced Sertoli cell apoptosis, which leads to decreased semen quality. In addition, ω-3...
Source: Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine - Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Tags: Syst Biol Reprod Med Source Type: research