Diet during early life defines testicular lipid content and sperm quality in adulthood.

Diet during early life defines testicular lipid content and sperm quality in adulthood. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Oct 12;: Authors: Crisóstomo L, Videira RA, Jarak I, Starčević K, Mašek T, Rato LP, Raposo JF, Batterham RL, Oliveira PF, Alves MG Abstract Childhood obesity is a serious concern associated with ill health later in life. Emerging data suggest that obesity has long-term adverse effects upon male sexual and reproductive health but few studies addressed this issue. We hypothesized that exposure to high-fat diet during early life alters testicular lipid content and metabolism leading to permanent damage to sperm parameters. After weaning (day 21 after birth), 36 male mice were randomly divided into 3 groups and fed with different diet regimen for 200 days: CTRL-standard chow; HFD-high-fat diet (Carbohydrate: 35.7%, Protein: 20.5%, Fat: 36.0%); HFDt-high-fat diet for 60 days then replaced by standard chow. Biometric and metabolic data were monitored. Animals were then sacrificed, and tissues collected. Epididymal sperm parameters and endocrine parameters were evaluated. Testicular metabolites were extracted and characterized by 1H-NMR and GC-MS. Testicular mitochondrial and antioxidant activity were evaluated. Our results show that mice fed with high-fat diet, even if only until early adulthood, had lower sperm viability and motility, and higher incidence of head and tail defects. Although diet reversion with wei...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab Source Type: research