Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct 10;12(10):e0185964.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185964. eCollection 2017.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus PB01 (DSM 14870) supplementation affects markers of sperm kinematic parameters in a diet-induced obesity mice model

Fereshteh Dardmeh  1   2 , Hiva Alipour  1 , Parisa Gazerani  1   2 , Gerhard van der Horst  3 , Erik Brandsborg  4 , Hans Ingolf Nielsen  1
Affiliations

Lactobacillus rhamnosus PB01 (DSM 14870) supplementation affects markers of sperm kinematic parameters in a diet-induced obesity mice model

Fereshteh Dardmeh et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Probiotics have been proposed as alternatives to pharmacological products in several medical conditions including the modulation of obesity, which is frequently associated with poor semen quality. However, effects of probiotics on male fertility have been less investigated. This study assessed the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus PB01 (DSM-14870) on sperm kinematic parameters in Normal-weight (NW) and diet-induced obese (DIO) models. NW and DIO C57BL/6NTac mice were divided into two subgroups with or without a single daily dose (1x109CFU) of L. rhamnosus for four weeks. Sperm motility and kinematics together with blood lipid profiles and reproductive hormone levels were assessed using the sperm class analyzer system. Probiotic supplementation increased serum testosterone, LH and FSH levels in both NW and DIO groups resulting in significantly (P<0.05) higher velocity (VSL, VCL and VAP) and percentages of progressively motile sperm and significantly lower percentages of immotile sperm. Other kinematic parameters (Lin, STR, ALH and BCF) were also increased in both probiotic supplemented DIO and NW groups at the 10% level of significance. Probiotic supplemented DIO mice demonstrated significantly higher percentages of progressively motile sperm versus DIO controls. This study demonstrated the potential of L. rhamnosus PB01 as a regulatory agent with positive effects on weight loss and reproductive-hormones, significantly improving sperm motility and kinematic parameters in male DIO models.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: EB is affiliated and employed at the Research and Development department of Bifodan A/S. This commercial affiliation does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Study design and groups.
Fig 2
Fig 2. The estimated marginal means of percentage of immotile, non-progressively motile, progressively motile and hyperactivated (% of motile) sperm in groups fed on normal diet (ND), high fat diet (FD), normal diet with probiotic supplementation (NDPR) and fat diet with probiotic supplementation (FDPR).
Data are presented as means and bars indicate SD. Similar letters demonstrate significant difference (P < .05).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Box and whisker plots demonstrating the total average sperm kinematic parameters (Curvilinear velocity (VCL), Average path velocity (VAP), Straight-line velocity (VSL), Beat cross frequency (BCF), Amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH), Linearity of a curvilinear path (LIN), Straightness (STR), Wobble (WOB) in mice fed normal diet (ND), high fat diet (FD), normal diet with probiotics (NDPR).
* demonstrate significant pairwise differences (P<0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ljiljak D, Milaković TT, Severinski NS, Kuna KB, Radojčić A. Sperm Cell in ART In: Wu B, editor. Advances in embrtyo transfer. InTech; 2012. pp. 65–73.
    1. Hull MG, Glazener CM, Kelly NJ, Conway DI, Foster PA, Hinton RA, et al. Population study of causes, treatment, and outcome of infertility. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1985;291: 1693–7. Available: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1418755&tool=p... - PMC - PubMed
    1. Magnusdottir E V, Thorsteinsson T, Thorsteinsdottir S, Heimisdottir M, Olafsdottir K. Persistent organochlorines, sedentary occupation, obesity and human male subfertility. Hum Reprod. 2005;20: 208–15. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15567884 doi: 10.1093/humrep/deh569 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fejes I, Koloszár S, Závaczki Z, Daru J, Szöllösi J, Pál A. Effect of body weight on testosterone/estradiol ratio in oligozoospermic patients. Arch Androl. 2006;52: 97–102. doi: 10.1080/01485010500315479 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fejes I, Koloszár S, Szöllosi J, Závaczki Z, Pál A. Is semen quality affected by male body fat distribution? Andrologia. 2005;37: 155–9. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16266392 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0272.2005.00671.x - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms