LIPIDS FROM DIET AFFECT CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM IN RABBIT TESTICLES

FUNES A.K.; COLOMBO R; SAEZ LANCELLOTTI T.E.; MONCLUS MA; CABRILLANA M.E; FORNÉS M.W

Mendoza

Otro; XXXIV Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2016

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The overweigh and the obesity are known causes of infertility in men, but the mechanism involved remains unknown. We have previously found that rabbits fed with a fat diet have a poor semen/sperm quality, and Olive Oil (OO) supplementation improved semen parameters affected by high fat diet. We investigate the intracellular pathway of cholesterol in rabbit testis under different diets (control; 0.05% cholesterol and protected by 7% OO). We found that after 3 months of diet the expression of mRNA encoding a protein related to the cholesterol synthesis and metabolism (Sterol- Regulatory-Binding-Protein 2; SREBP-2) did not change between hypercholesterolemic (HC) and control animals, but it reduced 50% expression after 6 months of fat diet. Moreover, 3 months of protection with OO in HC animals triggered the recovery in the mRNA expression of SREBP. These data showed that the testicle is sensitive to the intake of saturated or unsaturated fats, modulating the expression of SREBP-2 RNAm. In addition, this mRNA also changed expression depending on the time consumption of diets: after 3 months, the testis seemed not to sense chol sterol blood increment, while after 6 months a significant reduction of the mRNA expression is observed. On the other hand, mRNAexpression does not correspond to protein. These data suggest that the poor semen quality found in hypercholesterolemic rabbits may be related to changes in metabolic status and the molecular machinery of testis. So, we are facing a possible target in the protection mechanism by OO already studied organs.