Lipid Metabolism is Closely Associated with Normal Testicular Growth Based on Global Transcriptome Profiles in Normal and Underdeveloped Testis of Obese Zucker ( fa/fa ) Rats

This study was conducted to examine global testicular transcriptome profile in underdeveloped testes relative to developed ones using Rat Gene 2.0 ST Array (Affymetr ix, USA). Testes were obtained from 14-week-old, sexually mature male obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats. Out of the 1790 transcripts differentially expressed, 1108 and 682 were over-expressed in the underdeveloped and normal testis, respectively (fold change  ≥ 2 andP <  0.05). The ingenuity pathway analysis indicated that transcripts that were under-expressed in the underdeveloped testis, relative to the normal testes, are involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis, sphingomyelin metabolism and phosphatidylglycerol biosynthesis. Transcripts that were over-expressed in underdeveloped testes, relative to normal testis, are involved in the production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species, and nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 mediated oxidative stress responses. These data indicate that genes involved in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress play a crucial role in testicular growth and the maintenance of testical health.
Source: Lipids - Category: Lipidology Source Type: research