Riba Preethi, Gurusubramanian Guruswami, Roy Vikas Kumar
Department of Zoology, Mizoram University, Mizoram, Aizawl, 796004, India.
Mol Biol Rep. 2025 Sep 17;52(1):918. doi: 10.1007/s11033-025-11018-9.
Vaspin, a novel adipokine expressed in the testis and ovary, is known to regulate ovarian steroidogenesis in rats, porcine, and humans. Recently, adipokines like visfatin have been shown to modulate testicular steroidogenesis in early pubertal and adult mice, however, effects of vaspin on testicular steroidogenesis in early pubertal is still unknown.
Male mice at postnatal day 21 were selected and divided into three groups: control (n = 6), vaspin low (0.1 µg/kg) (n = 6), and vaspin high (1 µg/kg) (n = 6). Control group received saline as a vehicle, and other two groups were administered with vaspin at a dose of 0.1 µg/kg and 1 µg/kg (IP). The treatment was given for 15 days (PND21 to PND35).
Vaspin treatment at a dose of 0.1 and 1 µg/kg elevated the circulating testosterone, androstenedione, and estrogen, with no change in progesterone levels. StAR and CYP11A1 expression showed a significant increase at both doses of vaspin, while 3β-HSD immunostaining showed a decline only at higher doses of vaspin. 17β-HSD and CYP17A1 showed increased expression at lower doses of vaspin, and aromatase showed a significant decrease at higher doses. AR expression was unaffected; moreover, ERα and β showed a dose-dependent decreased expression in testis. The results indicate that elevated levels of vaspin enhance the secretion of testicular steroids by differential regulation of steroidogenic markers.
In conclusion, excess of vaspin stimulates the testicular testosterone, estrogen, and androstenedione secretion in early pubertal mice. However, its functional significance on the testicular functions needs further investigation.
内脏脂肪素是一种在睾丸和卵巢中表达的新型脂肪因子，已知其可调节大鼠、猪和人类的卵巢类固醇生成。最近，已有研究表明，内脂素等脂肪因子可调节青春期早期和成年小鼠的睾丸类固醇生成，然而，内脏脂肪素对青春期早期睾丸类固醇生成的影响仍不清楚。
选择出生后第21天的雄性小鼠，分为三组：对照组（n = 6）、低剂量内脏脂肪素组（0.1 μg/kg）（n = 6）和高剂量内脏脂肪素组（1 μg/kg）（n = 6）。对照组接受生理盐水作为载体，其他两组分别以0.1 μg/kg和1 μg/kg的剂量腹腔注射内脏脂肪素。治疗持续15天（从出生后第21天至第35天）。
0.1 μg/kg和1 μg/kg剂量的内脏脂肪素治疗可提高循环睾酮、雄烯二酮和雌激素水平，孕酮水平无变化。两种剂量的内脏脂肪素均使类固醇急性调节蛋白（StAR）和细胞色素P450侧链裂解酶（CYP11A1）表达显著增加，而3β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶（3β-HSD）免疫染色仅在高剂量内脏脂肪素时下降。低剂量内脏脂肪素时17β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶（17β-HSD）和细胞色素P450c17α（CYP17A1）表达增加，高剂量时芳香化酶表达显著降低。雄激素受体（AR）表达未受影响；此外，雌激素受体α和β在睾丸中的表达呈剂量依赖性降低。结果表明，内脏脂肪素水平升高通过对类固醇生成标志物的差异调节增强了睾丸类固醇的分泌。
总之，过量的内脏脂肪素可刺激青春期早期小鼠睾丸睾酮、雌激素和雄烯二酮的分泌。然而，其对睾丸功能的功能意义仍需进一步研究。
