J Biomed Transl Res.  2023 Jun;24(2):41-52. 10.12729/jbtr.2023.24.2.41.

Comparison of fertility competence in toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-knock out male mice fed a high-fat diet

• Oh EY
• Chandanee MR
• Dissanayake WMN
• Lee SM
• Yi YJ

• KMID: 2549239
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12729/jbtr.2023.24.2.41

Abstract

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is known to contribute to the modulation of insulin resistance and systemic inflammation seen in obesity and the metabolic syndrome. The present study was performed to investigate the fertility competence of TLR4 knock out male mice (TLR4 mice) on a high-fat diet (HFD), compared to a normal-chow diet (NCD). The controls included wildtype (WT) mice fed on a HFD or NCD. Six-week-old male mice were fed with either a NCD or HFD for 20 weeks. Body and organ weights, serum levels of glucose, triglycerides and hepatoxicity, sperm quality and spermatogenesis were observed after the sacrifice. Also, ran-domly selected male mice were mated with virgin female mice after feeding of 19 weeks. The weight of the body and organs increased in WT and TLR4 mice on a HFD compared to those of mice on a NCD. The weights of the reproductive organs did not vary among the treatment groups. The motility and concentration of the epididymal spermatozoa decreased in both WT and TLR4 mice fed a HFD. The pregnancy rate and litter size declined in the HFD-fed WT mice compared to the HFD-fed TLR4 mice. In conclusion, the HFD alters energy and steroid metabolism in mice, which may lead to male reproductive disorders. However, fertility com-petence was somewhat restored in HFD-fed TLR4 male mice, suggesting that the TLR4 is involved in testis dysfunction due to metabolic imbalance.

Keyword

diet; high-fat; toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4); fertility; male; mice