High lipid diet and the expression of proinflammatory markers in testis

Introduction: Obesity is defined as chronic low-grade inflammation which is manifestation of the cellular response to a variety of stressful situations leading to organ and tissue damage. А high lipid diet could be assumed to be the trigger mechanism for the development of inflammatory processes leading to a disorder in the immune tolerance in the testis. Aim: The present study aimed at demonstrating the expression of inflammatory markers in the testis by a model of a high lipid diet and the possible effect on spermatogenesis. Materials and methods: Male Wistar rats were used in the study divided into two groups: a control group fed standard rodent food and an experimental group receiving high lipid food for 14 weeks. Routine histological techniques, immunohistochemical reactions for proinflammatory markers and morphometric analysis were performed to examine the testis preparations. Results: The high lipid diet caused a low-grade inflammation in the testis in the experimental group, which was confirmed by the increase of proinflammatory markers: the C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and interleukin-4, and by the elevated levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme in the experimental versus control groups in a rat experimental model. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a high lipid diet might be a possible cause for the idiopathic infertility in men.