Relationship between abnormal sperm morphology induced by dietary zinc deficiency and lipid composition in testes of growing rats
- 18 February 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in British Journal of Nutrition
- Vol. 102 (2), 226-232
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007114508159037
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of dietary Zn deficiency during sexual maturation on sperm integrity and testis phospholipid fatty acid composition. Male weanling Sprague–Dawley rats were randomised into four dietary groups for 3 weeks: Zn control (ZC; 30 mg Zn/kg); Zn marginally deficient (ZMD; 9 mg Zn/kg); Zn deficient (ZD; < 1 mg Zn/kg); pair fed (PF; 30 mg Zn/kg) to the ZD group. Morphology of cauda epididymal sperm and lipid profiles of testis phospholipids were analysed. The rats fed the ZD diet had a lower testis weight (P < 0·02). Seminal vesicles and prostate weight were also lower in the ZD and PF groups. Rats fed the ZD diet, but not the ZMD diet, had 34–35 % more abnormal spermatozoa and 24 % shorter sperm tail length than the ZC and PF rats (P < 0·001). Testis cholesterol concentration was higher in the ZD rats compared with the ZC and PF rats (P < 0·04). Testes were highly enriched withn-6 fatty acids by showingn-6 : n-3 fatty acid ratios of 27:1 in phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 23:1 in phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The dominant fatty acid in testes was docosapentaenoic acid (22 : 5n-6), comprising 15 and 24 % of PC and PE, respectively. This fatty acid was significantly lower in the ZD rats, whereas 18 : 2n-6 was higher compared with the rats in the other diet groups. These results demonstrate that severe Zn deficiency adversely affects sperm integrity and modulates testis fatty acid composition by interrupting essential fatty acid metabolism. This suggests that Zn deficiency-associated abnormal testicular function is perhaps preceded by altered membrane fatty acid composition, especially of a major fatty acid, 22 : 5n-6.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Lipid composition of spermatozoa in normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic malesProstaglandins, Leukotrienes & Essential Fatty Acids, 2007
- Diet‐Induced Changes in Membrane Gangliosides in Rat Intestinal Mucosa, Plasma and BrainJournal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 2005
- Zinc-Deficient Rats Have More Limited Bone Recovery During Repletion Than Diet-Restricted RatsExperimental Biology and Medicine, 2004
- Effect of dietary zinc deficiency on hematological and biochemical parameters and concentrations of zinc, copper, and iron in growing ratsToxicology, 2001
- Light microscopic observations on the reproductive tract of the male sand rat,Psammomys obesusTissue and Cell, 1999
- Biosynthesis of docosahexaenoic acid in human cells: evidence that two different Δ6-desaturase activities may existBiochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Lipids and Lipid Metabolism, 1996
- Dietary fat alters membrane composition in rod outer segments in normal and diabetic rats: Impact on content of very-long-chain (C ⩾ 24) polyenoic fatty acidsBiochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Lipids and Lipid Metabolism, 1994
- Zinc, copper and selenium in reproductionCellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 1994
- Essential Fatty Acids in Tissue Phospholipids and Triglycerides of the Zinc-Deficient RatExperimental Biology and Medicine, 1984
- Effects of zinc deficiency and castration on fatty acid composition and desaturation in ratsLipids, 1982