Effects of a high‐fat diet on rat epididymis

Falvo, Sara; Latino, Debora; Santillo, Alessandra; Baccari, Gabriella Chieffi; Senese, Rosalba; Nuzzolillo, Francesca; Fiore, Maria Maddalena Di

doi:10.1002/jez.2698

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 36 publications

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“…The caput epididymis showed a mild elevation in the oxidative the CuNPs causes a degenerative changes. Since, the epididymis is an important reproductive organ, which provides not only passage to the sperm, rather also helps to mature sperm (Falvo et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of copper nanoparticles treatment on male accessory reproductive organs and epididymis in a mouse model: A morphological and biochemical study

Nicy,

Gurusubramanian,

Roy

2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Although the usage of nanoparticles has expanded substantially in recent years, and it causes the detrimental effect on the various organs. CuNPs are widely used in commercial applications. There has been minimal investigation into the possibly harmful effects of CuNPs on the accessory reproductive organs. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of CuNPs on the male reproductive organs like epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle and prostate of mice. The mice were exposed orally to CuNPs at three doses 10, 100, and 200 mg/kg for 70 days. Our results showed that the organs index of only vas deferens and prostate reduced at 200 mg/kg group compared to the control. However, the histological study showed degenerative changes in the epididymis at higher doses like distortion in the tubules. The sperm parameters were also decreased in the 200 mg/kg CuNPs group. The vas deferens in 100 and 200 mg/kg treatment groups exhibited detachment of luminal epithelium and with a few or no spermatozoa in the higher dose group. The seminal vesicle and prostate also showed degenerative changes like atrophy, hyperplasia, and scant secretary materials. Furthermore, CuNPs also increased the oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant enzymes in vas deferens and seminal vesicles at higher dose. Caput epididymis showed decreased GPx enzymes in all the groups. However, MDA and GPx in corpus, cauda, and prostate did not show any significant variations among all the groups. In conclusion, our results suggest that CuNPs can manifest the detrimental effect of the male accessory organs and epididymis in a dose and tissue dependent manner. Since, detrimental effects were observed only at higher dose, thus, uses of CuNPs would be safe for reproductive organs at lower dose, even for the prolonged duration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of copper nanoparticles treatment on male accessory reproductive organs and epididymis in a mouse model: A morphological and biochemical study

Nicy,

Gurusubramanian,

Roy

2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs

Tomar,

Gomez-Velazquez,

Gerlini

et al. 2024

Nature

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Spermatozoa harbour a complex and environment-sensitive pool of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs)1, which influences offspring development and adult phenotypes1–7. Whether spermatozoa in the epididymis are directly susceptible to environmental cues is not fully understood8. Here we used two distinct paradigms of preconception acute high-fat diet to dissect epididymal versus testicular contributions to the sperm sncRNA pool and offspring health. We show that epididymal spermatozoa, but not developing germ cells, are sensitive to the environment and identify mitochondrial tRNAs (mt-tRNAs) and their fragments (mt-tsRNAs) as sperm-borne factors. In humans, mt-tsRNAs in spermatozoa correlate with body mass index, and paternal overweight at conception doubles offspring obesity risk and compromises metabolic health. Sperm sncRNA sequencing of mice mutant for genes involved in mitochondrial function, and metabolic phenotyping of their wild-type offspring, suggest that the upregulation of mt-tsRNAs is downstream of mitochondrial dysfunction. Single-embryo transcriptomics of genetically hybrid two-cell embryos demonstrated sperm-to-oocyte transfer of mt-tRNAs at fertilization and suggested their involvement in the control of early-embryo transcription. Our study supports the importance of paternal health at conception for offspring metabolism, shows that mt-tRNAs are diet-induced and sperm-borne and demonstrates, in a physiological setting, father-to-offspring transfer of sperm mitochondrial RNAs at fertilization.

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A short-term high-fat diet alters rat testicular activity and blood-testis barrier integrity through the SIRT1/NRF2/MAPKs signaling pathways

Falvo,

Minucci,

Santillo

et al. 2023

Front. Endocrinol.

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BackgroundOverweight/obesity are metabolic disorder resulting from behavioral, environmental, and heritable causes. WHO estimates that 50% of adults and 30% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, and, in parallel, an ongoing decline in sperm quality and male fertility has been described. Numerous studies demonstrated the intimate association between overweight/obesity and reproductive dysfunction due to a highly intricate network of causes not yet completely understood. This study expands the knowledge on the impact of a short-term high-fat diet (st-HFD) on rat testicular activity, specifically on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis, focusing on the involved molecular mechanisms related to mitochondrial dynamics, blood-testis barrier (BTB) integrity, and SIRT1/NRF2/MAPKs pathways.MethodsTen adult Male Wistar rats were divided into two groups of five and treated with a standard diet or an HFD for five weeks. At the end of the treatment, rats were anesthetized and sacrificed by decapitation. Blood was collected for serum sex hormone assay; one testis was stored at -80ÅãC for western blot analysis, and the other, was fixed for histological and immunofluorescence analysis.ResultsFive weeks of HFD results in reduced steroidogenesis, increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells, and altered spermatogenesis, as highlighted by reduced protein levels ofmeiotic and post-meiotic markers. Further, we evidenced the compromission of the BTB integrity, as revealed by the downregulation of structural proteins (N-Cadherin, ZO-1, occludin, connexin 43, and VANGL2) other than the phosphorylation of regulative kinases (Src and FAK). At the molecular level, the impairment of mitochondrial dynamics (fission, fusion, andbiogenesis), and the dysregulation of the SIRT1/NRF2/MAPKs signaling pathways, were evidenced. Interestingly, no change was observed in the levels of pro-inflammatory markers (TNFα, NF-kB, and IL-6).ConclusionsThe combined data led us to confirm that overweight is a less severe state than obesity. Furthermore, understanding the molecular mechanisms behind the association between metabolic disorders and male fertility could improve the possibility of identifying novel targets to prevent and treat fertility disorders related to overweight/obesity.

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Effects of a high‐fat diet on rat epididymis

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

Assessment of copper nanoparticles treatment on male accessory reproductive organs and epididymis in a mouse model: A morphological and biochemical study

Assessment of copper nanoparticles treatment on male accessory reproductive organs and epididymis in a mouse model: A morphological and biochemical study

Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs

A short-term high-fat diet alters rat testicular activity and blood-testis barrier integrity through the SIRT1/NRF2/MAPKs signaling pathways

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