The Effect of Different Exercise Modalities on Sertoli-germ Cells Metabolic Interactions in High-fat Diet-induced Obesity Rat Models: Implication on Glucose and Lactate Transport, Igf1, and Igf1R-dependent Pathways.

The study aimed to uncover a unique aspect of obesity-related metabolic disorders in the testicles induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and explored the potential mitigating effects of exercise modalities on male fertility. Thirty mature male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control, HFD-sole, moderate-intensity exercise with HFD (HFD+MICT), high-intensity continuous exercise with HFD (HFD+HICT), and high-intensity interval exercise with HFD (HFD+HIIT) groups (n=6/group). Intracytoplasmic carbohydrate (ICC) storage, expression levels of GLUT-1, GLUT-3, MCT-4, Igf1, and Igf1R, and testicular lactate and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels were assessed. ICC storage significantly decreased in HFD-sole rats, along with decreased mRNA and protein levels of GLUT-1, GLUT-3, MCT-4, Igf1, and Igf1R. The HFD-sole group exhibited a notable reduction in testicular lactate and LDH levels (p<0.05). Conversely, exercise, particularly HIIT, upregulated ICC storage, expression levels of GLUT-1, GLUT-3, MCT-4, Igf1, and Igf1R, and enhanced testicular lactate and LDH levels. These results confirm that exercise, especially HIIT, has the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of HFD-induced obesity on testicular metabolism and male fertility. The upregulation of metabolite transporters, LDH, lactate levels, Igf1, and Igf1R expression may contribute to maintaining metabolic interactions and improving the glucose/lactate conversion process. These findings underscore the potential benefits of exercise in preventing and managing obesity-related male fertility issues.

Moderate-intensity Exercise Training in Sole and Simultaneous Forms with Insulin Ameliorates the Experimental Type 1 Diabetes-induced Intrinsic Apoptosis in Testicular Tissue.

The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effect of moderate-intensity exercise training in sole and simultaneous forms with insulin on experimental type 1 diabetes (T1D)-induced apoptosis. A total of 36 mature male Wistar rats were divided into six equally sized groups, including sedentary control (Con), moderate-intensity exercise training (E-sole), sedentary T1D-induced (D-sole), moderate-exercise-trained T1D-induced (DE), insulin-treated sedentary T1D-induced (DI) and exercise-trained, and insulin-treated T1D-induced (DEI) groups. The 6-week exercise training intervention was involved 30 min of moderate-intensity running on a treadmill once daily (5 days/week). Next, tubular differentiation (TDI) and spermiogenesis (SPI) indices were assessed. The Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 expressions were determined using RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot techniques. Finally, the TUNEL staining was used to analyze the apoptosis ratio. The moderate-intensity exercise training in the sole and when simultaneously considered with insulin (DEI) maintained testicular cellularity, up-regulated Bcl-2 expression, reduced Bax expression and ameliorated the diabetes-induced apoptosis. We failed to show remarkable alterations in caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels in the DE group versus D-sole animals. In conclusion, the moderate-intensity exercise training is able to potentially protect testicular cells from T1D-induced intrinsic apoptosis via up-regulating Bcl-2 and downregulating Bax expressions. Moreover, it amplifies the insulin-induced anti-apoptotic impacts.