Abstract

We determined the effects of insufficient maternal energy on testicular development in offspring in a swine model. Thirty-six sows were divided into control (CON) and low-energy diet (LE) groups during gestation. We observed that the number of Sertoli, germ, and Leydig cells in the offspring of the CON group were significantly higher than those in the LE group at 28 and 120 d after birth. Furthermore, the percentage of apoptotic testis cells was significantly higher in the offspring of the LE group than in the CON group. Transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed mRNAs and long noncoding RNAs in offspring testes indicated that these RNAs were mainly involved in lipid metabolism, apoptosis, cell proliferation, and some pivotal regulatory pathways. Results revealed that AMPK–PI3K–mTOR, MAPK, and oxidative phosphorylation signaling pathways play an important role in mediating the programming effect of insufficient maternal energy on testicular development, and that this effect occurs mainly at an early stage in life. mRNA and protein expression analyses confirmed the importance of certain signaling pathways in the regulation of testicular development. This study provides insights into the influence and possible mechanism underlying the effect of inadequate maternal energy intake on testicular development in the offspring.

Details

Title
Maternal energy insufficiency affects testicular development of the offspring in a swine model
Author
Lin, Yan 1 ; Xue-Yu, Xu 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wu, De 1 ; Lin, Hao 2 ; Zheng-Feng, Fang 1 ; Feng, Bin 1 ; Sheng-Yu, Xu 1 ; Lian-Qiang Che 1 ; Li, Jian 1 ; Zhuo, Yong 1 ; Cai-Mei, Wu 1 ; Jun-Jie, Zhang 3 ; Hong-Jun, Dong 1 

1  Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Resistance Nutrition of the Ministry of Education of China, Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 
2  Key Laboratory for Neuro-Information of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China 
3  School of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an, Sichuan, China 
Pages
1-15
Publication year
2019
Publication date
Oct 2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51041-y
ProQuest document ID
2303724360
Copyright
© 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.