Alejandro Bielli, Pérez Raquel, Pedrana Graciela, Milton John T B, Lopez Alvaro, Blackberry Margaret A, Duncombe Gregory, Rodriguez-Martinez Heriberto, Martin Graeme B
Department of Morphology and Development, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Uruguay, Montevideo.
Reprod Fertil Dev. 2002;14(5-6):333-7. doi: 10.1071/rd02046.
The nutritional status of females during pregnancy can play a critical role in the postnatal growth and development of the offspring, often leading to permanent changes ('fetal programming'). The Sertoli cells are a strong candidate for fetal programming of future performance because the number of Sertoli cells is highly correlated with adult testicular size and the maximum rate of sperm production. For Merino ewes, we imposed different levels of metabolizable energy (ME) intake (LowME: 70% of requirements for maintenance of ewe body mass and normal growth of conceptus (n = 13); HighME: 110% of those requirements (n = 12)) from Week 10 of pregnancy until parturition and then tested for effects on testicular histology in newborn males. Pregnant ewes were weighed weekly and lambs were weighed at birth and 2 days later. Blood was sampled at the same times. LowME ewes did not gain weight, whereas HighME ewes gained 17% over their pretreatment weight. Birthweights were higher in HighME lambs than in LowME lambs. Paired testes tended to be heavier in the HighME group than in the LowME group (P=0.08). The diameter of the testicular cords did not differ. The absolute volume of testicular cords (0.36 +/- 0.02 v. 0.30 +/- 0.02 mL for HighME v. LowME, respectively; P=0.03) and the number of Sertoli cells (43.0 +/- 2.5 v. 34.5 +/- 2.0 x 10(8) for HighME v. LowME, respectively; P=0.018) per testis were both greater in the HighME than in the LowME group. Plasma follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations were not significantly affected at birth or 2 days later. We conclude that undernutrition during pregnancy can reduce testicular development in the newborn. Depending on the ability of the Sertoli cell population to recover between birth and puberty, this may limit the ultimate number of Sertoli cells and, hence, the future capacity for sperm production and fertility.
孕期女性的营养状况对后代出生后的生长发育可能起着关键作用，常常会导致永久性变化（“胎儿编程”）。支持细胞是未来性能胎儿编程的有力候选者，因为支持细胞的数量与成年睾丸大小以及精子产生的最大速率高度相关。对于美利奴母羊，我们在怀孕第10周直至分娩期间施加了不同水平的可代谢能量（ME）摄入量（低ME组：维持母羊体重和胎儿正常生长所需能量的70%（n = 13）；高ME组：所需能量的110%（n = 12）），然后检测对新生雄性睾丸组织学的影响。每周称量怀孕母羊体重，出生时及出生2天后称量羔羊体重。同时采集血液样本。低ME组母羊体重未增加，而高ME组母羊体重比预处理体重增加了17%。高ME组羔羊出生体重高于低ME组羔羊。高ME组的成对睾丸往往比低ME组更重（P = 0.08）。睾丸索直径无差异。高ME组每个睾丸的睾丸索绝对体积（分别为0.36±0.02毫升对低ME组的0.30±0.02毫升；P = 0.03）和支持细胞数量（分别为43.0±2.5对低ME组的34.5±2.0×10⁸；P = 0.018）均高于低ME组。出生时及出生2天后血浆促卵泡激素浓度未受到显著影响。我们得出结论，孕期营养不足会减少新生儿的睾丸发育。根据支持细胞群体在出生至青春期之间恢复的能力，这可能会限制支持细胞的最终数量，从而限制未来精子产生和生育能力。
