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. 2023 Jul;339(6):535-544.
doi: 10.1002/jez.2698. Epub 2023 Apr 3.

Effects of a high-fat diet on rat epididymis

Sara Falvo  1 , Debora Latino  1 , Alessandra Santillo  1 , Gabriella Chieffi Baccari  1 , Rosalba Senese  1 , Francesca Nuzzolillo  1 , Maria Maddalena Di Fiore  1
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Effects of a high-fat diet on rat epididymis

Sara Falvo et al. J Exp Zool A Ecol Integr Physiol. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

The epididymis plays an essential role in reproduction, promoting sperm cell maturation. In this study, we investigated the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) in the three regions of the epididymis of rats, including caput, corpus, and cauda. Our results showed an increase in malondialdehyde and a decrease in superoxide dismutase, which indicated an increase in oxidative stress in all segments of the epididymis. The cellular response mechanisms were mostly detected in the corpus/cauda regions, which showed an increase in apoptosis, probably for eliminating dysfunctional cells arising from HFD-induced oxidative stress, and a decrease in mitophagy. Additionally, an increase in lipophagy to prevent lipid accumulation and a decrease in cell proliferation were recorded in the corpus.

Keywords: apoptosis; autophagy; epididymis; lipophagy; mitophagy; oxidative stress.

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