Prenatal Undernutrition Disrupted the Sexual Maturation, but Not the Sexual Behavior, in Male Rats

Overview

Journal Reprod Med Biol

Specialty Biology

Date 2017 Dec 21

PMID 29259485

Citations 3

Authors

Toshiya Matsuzaki

Munkhsaikhan Munkhzaya

Altankhuu Tungalagsuvd

Yiliyasi Mayila

Takeshi Iwasa

Kiyohito Yano

Rie Yanagihara

Takako Tokui

Takeshi Kato

Akira Kuwahara

Sumika Matsui

Minoru Irahara

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Exposure to various stressors, including psychological, metabolic, and immune, in the perinatal period induces long-lasting effects in physiological function and increase the risk of metabolic disorders in later life. In the present study, sexual maturation and sexual behavior were assessed in prenatally undernourished mature male rats.

Methods: All the pregnant rats were divided into the maternal normal nutrition (mNN) group and the maternal undernutrition (mUN) group. The mUN mothers received 50% of the amount of the daily food intake of the mNN mothers. Preputial separation and sexual behavior were observed in randomly selected pups of the mNN and mUN groups.

Results: The body weight of the mothers was significantly lighter in the mUN group than in the mNN group. Similarly, the pups in the mUN group showed a significantly lower body weight than those in the mNN group from postnatal day (PND) 1 to PND 15. The preputial separation day was significantly delayed in the mUN group, compared to the mNN group. Sexual behavior did not show any significant difference between the two groups.

Conclusion: These findings indicated that prenatal undernutrition delayed sexual maturation, but did not suppress sexual behavior, in mature male rats.

Citing Articles

L-Arginine reverses maternal and pre-pubertal codeine exposure-induced sexual dysfunction via upregulation of androgen receptor gene and NO/cGMP signaling.

Akhigbe R, Afolabi O, Ajayi A PLoS One. 2022; 17(9):e0274411.

PMID: 36099318 PMC: 9469994. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274411.

The influence of psychological stress in early life on sexual maturation and sexual behavior in male and female rats.

Yano K, Matsuzaki T, Iwasa T, Mayila Y, Yanagihara R, Tungalagsuvd A Reprod Med Biol. 2020; 19(2):135-141.

PMID: 32273818 PMC: 7138938. DOI: 10.1002/rmb2.12313.

Prenatal undernutrition disrupted the sexual maturation, but not the sexual behavior, in male rats.

Matsuzaki T, Munkhzaya M, Tungalagsuvd A, Mayila Y, Iwasa T, Yano K Reprod Med Biol. 2017; 16(4):325-329.

PMID: 29259485 PMC: 5715893. DOI: 10.1002/rmb2.12045.

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