title: LH and testosterone production are more sensitive to the suppressive effects of food deprivation in prenatally undernourished male rats.
abstract: Although prenatal undernutrition affects the development of metabolic, physiological, and reproductive functions, it remains unclear whether it also affects physiological responses to undernutrition in adulthood. Therefore, in this study we examined whether prenatal undernutrition alters the sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis to fasting in adult male rats. The offspring of ad libitum fed dams (control) and ∼50% food-restricted (during the late gestational period) dams (IUGR) were sub-divided into ad libitum fed (fed) and 48 h food deprivation (FD) groups at 10 weeks of age. In each group, the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and leptin and the hypothalamic mRNA expression levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) regulatory factors were measured. The serum LH and testosterone levels of the IUGR-fed rats were significantly or tend to be higher than those of the control-fed rats, respectively. The serum LH levels of the IUGR-FD rats were lower than those of the IUGR-fed rats. Similarly, the serum testosterone levels of the IUGR-FD rats tended to be lower than those of the IUGR-fed rats. On the other hand, the serum LH and testosterone levels of the control-fed and control-FD rats did not differ. The serum leptin levels of the IUGR fed rats were higher than those of the control-fed rats. The serum leptin levels of the control-FD and IUGR-FD rats were lower than those of the control-fed and IUGR-fed rats, respectively. The hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) mRNA levels of the IUGR-FD rats were higher than those of the IUGR-fed rats. Similarly, hypothalamic NPY mRNA levels of control-FD rats were higher than those of the control-fed rats. The hypothalamic kisspeptin, kisspeptin receptor, RFamide-related peptide, GPR147, and OBRb mRNA levels of control fed rats did not differ between control-fed and IUGR-fed rats. Their mRNA levels of the fed and FD rats did not differ in the control or IUGR groups. These results suggested that prenatal undernutrition increased the basal LH and testosterone production, whereas they are easily reduced by food deprivation in male rats. Changes of serum leptin level, but not of hypothalamic reproductive related factors, might be involved in these alterations. However, the precise mechanisms responsible for these effects remain unclear.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan. Electronic address: iwasa.takeshi@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
authors: Takeshi
authors: T
authors: Iwasa
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors: Toshiya
authors: T
authors: Matsuzaki
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors: Altankhuu
authors: A
authors: Tungalagsuvd
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors: Munkhsaikhan
authors: M
authors: Munkhzaya
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors: Akira
authors: A
authors: Kuwahara
authors: Department of Reproductive Technology, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Japan.
authors: Toshiyuki
authors: T
authors: Yasui
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Institute of Health Biosciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto-Cho, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
authors: Minoru
authors: M
authors: Irahara
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000378:metabolism*; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020813:Receptor, trkB / Q000378:metabolism; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D020738:Leptin; C489787:MAP2 protein, rat; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D013739:Testosterone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D020813:Receptor, trkB
keywords: IUGR; LH; NPY; Testosterone