A paternal hypercaloric diet affects the metabolism and fertility of F1 and F2 Wistar rat generations

Abstract

Increased fat and carbohydrate intakes based on the Western diet are important lifestyle modifications that lead to hypercaloric inputs, obesity, and male fertility negative effects. Epigenetic transmission may also predispose descended generations to chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, behavioral, and reproductive disorders. The present study sought to evaluate the influence of a high-fat-high-sugar (HFHS) diet supplied to Wistar rats from 25 to 90 days of life on reproductive and metabolic parameters in male generations F0, F1, and F2. The standard group received the normocaloric – Nuvilab Quimtia® –3.86 kcal/kg. The hypercaloric diet (HD) group received the HFHS diet – PragSoluções® –4.77 kcal/kg. Body weight, adiposity, F1 and F2 prepubertal age evaluations, oral glucose tolerance test, insulin tolerance test, organ weights, sperm count and morphology assessments, and histometric testicular analyses were performed. The HFHS diet promoted dyslipidemia, higher adiposity, lower relative organ weights, and higher mean kidney weight, decreased mean testicle and parenchyma weights and lower height of seminiferous epithelium (HE) for the F0 generation. F1 and F2 offspring of HD group displayed early preprepubertal development, although did not alter the metabolic parameters. Decreased HE and tubular testicular compartment volumetric density and increased intertubular testicular compartment volumetric density and volume in the F1 generation of HD group were observed. Alterations in histometry of intertubular testicular compartment were also noted. It is concluded that the HFHS experimental model altered only paternal metabolic parameters. However, reproductive parameters of the three generations were affected.

Consequences of Paternal Nutrition on Offspring Health and Disease

“…Then, they compared with obese men who also have an alteration in their tsRNAs sperm contents [ 69 ]. The combination of high-sugar with a high-fat diet results in a dysfunction of the reproductive system with an earlier testicular descent in the F1 generation [ 109 ]. The authors also observed a statistical difference in the A and B phases penile glans morphology ages in F1 and F2 generations when males are fed a hypercaloric diet.…”

“…The authors also observed a statistical difference in the A and B phases penile glans morphology ages in F1 and F2 generations when males are fed a hypercaloric diet. This hypercaloric diet is also known to increase fat mass in rats [ 80 , 109 ] and in mice [ 64 , 81 ]. These earlier studies suggest that a high sugar or a hypercaloric diet could affect both the offspring’s metabolism and reproductive parameters.…”

High‐fat, sucrose and salt‐rich diet during rat spermatogenesis lead to the development of chronic kidney disease in the female offspring of the F2 generation

“…The molecular mechanisms of paternal programming of renal outcomes in the offspring are not well studied. However, several studies investigated paternal programming of other organs such as liver, 15–17 cardiovascular function, 18 pancreas, 19 adipose tissue, 20 and reproductive system 21 . There is now convincing evidence that the underlying molecular mechanisms are mediated via epigenetic alterations of the sperm such as sperm DNA methylation, histone modifications, noncoding RNAs in the tip of the sperm 22–25 .…”

Three-Generation Study of Male Rats Gestationally Exposed to High Butterfat and Bisphenol A: Impaired Spermatogenesis, Penetrance with Reduced Severity

“…Animal studies have indicated that foods high in fat content, regularly found in the Western diet, are potential disruptors of male and female reproductive capacity [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Combined parental obesity has been found to detrimentally impact preimplantation mouse embryo development, kinetics, morphology, and metabolism [ 38 ].…”

“…Fetal exposure to EDCs and high-fat diets [ 35 , 42 , 43 ] can cause abnormalities in the F1 and F2 generations. Both the F1-generation embryo and F2-generation germ line are directly exposed when an F0-generation pregnant mother is exposed.…”