Abstract
This study investigates the mechanism underlying the improving effect of zinc on fertility in obese rats using proteomics. The effects of three different doses of ZnSO4 on spermatogenesis and hormone levels were studied. Testicular spermatogenesis was observed by HE staining. Serum estrogen and testosterone levels were measured by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Sperm proteomic analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The DAVID database was used to perform the GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes, and the STRING online database was used to construct a PPI network. The sperm count, sperm motility, and testosterone hormones of the ZnSO4-treated rats group were increased. ZnSO4 improved testicular structure and spermatogenesis abnormalities caused by obesity. Proteomic analysis showed that there were 401 differentially expressed proteins in a total of 6 sperm samples from the ZnSO4-treated group and the obesity groups. Differential proteins were input into the DAVID website. The 341 identified proteins were then classified according to their biological functions. The KEGG analysis showed that the enriched signal pathways included glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, carbon metabolism, citrate cycle, fatty acid metabolism, and pyruvate metabolism. Some proteins were shown to be associated with valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation pathways. STRING analysis obtained 36 node proteins. Cytoscape analysis showed that these proteins mainly participated in nine networks including metabolic process, oxidation-reduction, aerobic respiration, RNA splicing, and glutathione conjugation. ZnSO4 may improve the fertility of obese male rats by regulating protein expression related to metabolism, inflammation, and sperm maturation.
Highlights
IntroductionThere is a certain time consistency among the increase of male infertility rate, the decrease of semen quality, and the increase of obesity rate [1]
Blood glucose status, blood lipid parameters, and blood pressure are BioMed Research International improved after zinc supplementation [7]
The results showed that testosterone hormones increased in the ZnSO4-treated group compared with the obesity group (Table 2)
Summary
There is a certain time consistency among the increase of male infertility rate, the decrease of semen quality, and the increase of obesity rate [1]. The decrease in the number of mature sperm may be one of the reasons leading to the low spermatogenic ability of obese people. Oral zinc preparation can improve the content of zinc in seminal plasma, promote the transformation of sperm nuclear protein (i.e., from lysine to arginine), and inhibit the premature depolymerization of the sperm nucleus. It can improve sperm motility and semen quality of infertile patients without obvious side effects [8]. The application of proteomics in understanding the effects of ZnSO4 treatment on sperm proteins in obesity is still limited and further exploration is required
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