I-2: Effects of Pre and Postnatal Protein under

Background: Protein-energy malnutrition is the most prevalent form of nutritional disorder in developing countries. Several studies have demonstrated that reproductive performance in adulthood is partially determined by a variety of extrinsic factors from conception to birth. Among these factors, maternal nutrition during fetal and neonatal life plays a key role as it can affect the reproductive capacity of the offspring. This study investigated the effects of pre and postnatal protein deficiency on the spermatogenic process of adult rats. Materials and Methods: Female Wistar rats received either a control (20% crude protein, group C) or a hipoproteic (8% crude protein, group T) diet from five weeks before mating until weaning their pups (three weeks after farrowing). After weaning, the male pups were divided into four groups and fed, as follows: a) group CC: pups from mothers of group C that received the control diet; b) group CT: pups from mothers of group C that received the hipoproteic diet; c) group TT: pups from mothers of group T that received the hipoproteic diet; and d) group TC: pups from mothers of group T that received the control diet. At 70 days of age the male rats were killed and their testes fixed with 5% glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer (0.05M, pH=7.4) by intravascular perfusion. Testes were removed and fragments embedded in plastic resin for histomophometrical evaluation under light microscopy. Results: It was observed that the diameter of the seminiferous tubules was expressively reduced in rats of the TT group that were exposed to the protein deficient diet since the prenatal period, but in the animals that received the control diet, pre-(CT) or post-natally (TC) , the tubular diameter was partiallyaffected. By histological analyses, it was detected that the spermatogenesis in the seminiferous epithelium was affected once the number of germ cells was reduced mainly in the animals of the TT group. However, in those animals in which the control diet was offered in one period of their lives (CT and TC groups) the spermatogenic process was partially depleted. The decline of the germ cells number started with the reduction of the spermatogonial number that, consequently, reflected the subsequent reduction in the numbers of spermatocytes and spermatids. When assessing the overall index of spermatogenesis, it was found that rats of the group TT were more expressively International Journal of Fertility & Sterility (IJFS), Vol 5, Suppl 1, Summer 2011 6 affected. In this group, the capacity of the Sertoli cells to support germ cells was reduced ~63% (Sertoli Cell Efficiency); the germ cells loss during the two meiotic divisions was increased ~41% (Meiotic Index) and the number of spermatids produced from one single differentiating spermatogonia type A1 was reduced ~81% (Round Spermatid/Spermatogonia Index). Conclusion: Taken together, these data showed that protein undernutrition causes significant reduction in several spermatogenic parameters of adult rats mainly when they were exposed to it since the prenatal period up to adulthood. Further investigation is needed to address the mechanism by which protein malnutrition influences the spermatogenic process.