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Marginal Zinc Deficiency in Mice Increased the Number of Abnormal Sperm and Altered the Expression Level of Spermatogenesis-Related Genes

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Abstract

Marginal zinc deficiency is more common than severe zinc deficiency, and the effect of marginal zinc deficiency on male reproduction is unknown. This study investigated the effect of marginal zinc deficiency on spermatogenesis and its mechanism. Male ICR mice were fed normal zinc (30 mg/kg) and marginal zinc deficiency (10 mg/kg) diets for 35 days. Zinc-dependent proteins and enzymes were measured as biomarkers of zinc levels in the body. Metallothionein and Cu–Zn SOD levels in the control group were higher than those in the marginal zinc deficiency group. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that the marginal zinc deficiency diet caused histopathological changes in the testis and destruction of the sperm head under scanning electron microscopy. Sperm parameters and sex hormone levels were also affected by marginal zinc deficiency. In addition, marginal zinc deficiency led to alter expression level of several important spermatogenesis-related genes in the epididymis and testes. These results indicate that although zinc intake in marginal zinc deficiency is close to the recommended reference value, low zinc intake interferes with the expression of genes related to spermatogenesis and may lead to sperm abnormalities in mice.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to all members of Professor Wang CH’s lab at the School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University for their generous help. We would like to thank Ms. Hui Liang from the School of Basic Medicine, Wuhan University for her professional support in the use of the scanning electron microscope. At the same time, thanks to the animal facilities of Wuhan University Animal Experiment Center for the maintenance of the mouse population.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from Angel Nutritech Nutrition Fund (Grant NO. AF2019004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Cheng Peng, Zhaoyu Zhang, Ziqiong Wang, Haitao Ma, Duanya Liu, Lei Wang & Chunhong Wang

  2. Angel Nutritech Company Limited, Yichang, 443000, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Qian Cheng & Youjiao Liu

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  1. Cheng Peng
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  2. Qian Cheng
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  3. Youjiao Liu
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  4. Zhaoyu Zhang
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  5. Ziqiong Wang
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  6. Haitao Ma
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  7. Duanya Liu
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  8. Lei Wang
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  9. Chunhong Wang
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Contributions

Chunhong Wang and Cheng Peng designed this study. Ziqiong Wang, Duanya Liu, Haitao Ma, and Lei Wang raised the animals. Cheng Peng and Zhaoyu Zhang carried out index detection and wrote the first draft. Chunhong Wang, Qian Cheng, and Youjiao Liu edited the final paper. All authors approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Chunhong Wang.

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This study was approved by the Committee of the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Wuhan University School of Medicine (No.: WP2020-08053).

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Peng, C., Cheng, Q., Liu, Y. et al. Marginal Zinc Deficiency in Mice Increased the Number of Abnormal Sperm and Altered the Expression Level of Spermatogenesis-Related Genes. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 3738–3749 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02979-6

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