Fertility and reproduction in rats with metabolic syndrome

ObjectiveTo study the effect of metabolic syndrome on the fertility and reproduction in model animals.

MethodsThe model of"high fat diet for spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR)"was adopted to construct the model of metabolic syndrome in rats. The metabolic syndrome model rats were used to mate with male and female 1 : 1 cage, and the mating cycle was 2 weeks.

ResultsAfter the SHR rats were fed a high-fat diet for 10 weeks, 16 males and 15 females met the screening criteria for metabolic syndrome, with the modeling rates of 40% and 37.5%, respectively. In addition to the abnormal metabolism-related indicators(such as blood glucose, blood lipid and blood pressure), the male rats with metabolic syndrome mainly had decreased sperm motility(P < 0.05), increased sperm malformation rate(P < 0.01), and decreased mating rate(P < 0.05). In addition to abnormal metabolism-related indicators, the conception rate and the live fetal rate of the female rats with metabolic syndrome were slightly lower than that of the control group; however, there was no statistical difference. The mean birth weight of the litter was significantly lower than that of the control group(P < 0.05).

ConclusionAccording to the whole process from mating to natural production, metabolic syndrome is determined to have a significant effect on the fertility and reproductive ability of rats.