EFFECT OF OLIVE OIL INTAKE ON CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM: ANALYZING TESTIS FROM HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RABBITS.

ROMERO ANGELICA; FUNES ABI; SIMON, LAYLA; JAKOVCEVIC DAIANA; YAPUR MARTIN.; PRATICI, CARLA; BOARELLI PAOLA VANINA; SAEZ LANCELLOTTI TANIA ESTEFANÍA; FORNES MIGUEL

Congreso; Reunión científica anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo.; 2012

Hypercholesterolemia (HC) is a metabolic disorder that can be secondary and contribute to many diseases, most notably cardiovascular disease. Recently, it has also been associated with poor semen quality that may lead to male in fertility. We have previously found that hypercholesterolemic rabbits (HCR)have poor semen quality, and OO supplementation improved sperm physiology and semen parameters affected by high saturated-fat consumption. Our interest resides in studying at molecular level the intracellular pathway of cholesterol metabolism in testis, in order to find out the cause that ultimately led to altered semen parameters. HCR were developed by diet containing 0.05% cholesterol (chol), and were protected by addition of 7% OO. We found changes in the expression of enzymes related to cholesterol biosynthesis in HCR that were partially reverted by OO. Our data demonstrate that OO improves semen quality in our rabbit model of HC, and suggest that the mechanisms accounting for this protective effect likely involve complex alterations in cellular metabolism beyond simply a reduction in cholesterol.