Laboratory Animal Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Centre, Xi'an 710061, China.
Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China.
Genes (Basel). 2023 Feb 23;14(3):557. doi: 10.3390/genes14030557.
Obesity is a metabolic disorder resulting from behavioral, environmental and heritable causes, and can have a negative impact on male reproduction. There have been few experiments in mice, rats, and rabbits on the effects of obesity on reproduction, which has inhibited the development of better treatments for male subfertility caused by obesity. Nonhuman primates are most similar to human beings in anatomy, physiology, metabolism, and biochemistry and are appropriate subjects for obesity studies. In this investigation, we conducted a transcriptome analysis of the testes of cynomolgus monkeys on high-fat, high-fructose, and cholesterol-rich diets to determine the effect of obesity on gene expression in testes. The results showed that the testes of obese monkeys had abnormal morphology, and their testes transcriptome was significantly different from that of non-obese animals. We identified 507 differentially abundant genes (adjusted value < 0.01, log2 [FC] > 2) including 163 up-regulated and 344 down-regulated genes. Among the differentially abundant genes were ten regulatory genes, including , , , , , , , , , and . Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis was conducted, and we found that processes and pathways associated with the blood testes barrier (BTB), immunity, inflammation, and DNA methylation in gametes were preferentially enriched. We also found abnormal expression of genes related to infertility (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and ) and down-regulation of testosterone in monkeys with dietetic obesity. This work not only provides an important reference for research and treatment on male infertility caused by obesity, but also valuable insights into the effects of diet on gene expression in testes.
肥胖是一种由行为、环境和遗传因素引起的代谢紊乱，会对男性生殖产生负面影响。目前在肥胖对生殖影响的研究中，仅有少数关于老鼠、大鼠和兔子的实验，这阻碍了更好的治疗肥胖导致男性不育症方法的发展。非人类灵长类动物在解剖学、生理学、新陈代谢和生物化学方面与人类最为相似，是肥胖研究的合适对象。在这项研究中，我们对高脂肪、高果糖和富含胆固醇饮食的食蟹猴睾丸进行了转录组分析，以确定肥胖对睾丸基因表达的影响。结果表明，肥胖猴子的睾丸形态异常，其睾丸转录组与非肥胖动物有明显差异。我们鉴定了 507 个差异丰度基因（调整后 值 < 0.01，log2 [FC] > 2），包括 163 个上调基因和 344 个下调基因。在差异丰度基因中，有 10 个调节基因，包括 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 。进行了基因本体论（GO）和 KEGG 通路分析，发现与血睾屏障（BTB）、免疫、炎症和配子 DNA 甲基化相关的过程和途径优先富集。我们还发现与不育相关的基因（ 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 、 ）表达异常，以及饮食性肥胖猴子睾丸中睾酮表达下调。这项工作不仅为肥胖引起的男性不育症的研究和治疗提供了重要参考，也为饮食对睾丸基因表达的影响提供了有价值的见解。
