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Testicular angiogenic activity in response to food restriction in rabbits

Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal¹ CIISA, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Technical University of Lisbon (UTL), Lisbon, Portugal² Tropical Research Institute (IICT), Lisbon, Portugal³ Department of Animal Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to G Ferreira-Dias at CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal; Email: gmlfdias{at}fmv.utl.pt

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different levels of food restriction on testicular angiogenic activity, microvascularization, tissue growth, and regression, using the rabbit as a study model. The rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus) were randomly assigned to a control group (A, n=5), fed ad libitum, and to groups B (n=5) and C (n=5), with two different levels of food restriction. Food restriction was responsible for a 21.2% decrease in body weight in group B and 34.7% in group C. Testis explants were cultured for 24 h and conditioned media were tested for their ability to stimulate mitogenesis of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). There was an increase in testicular microvascular area and mitogenesis of BAEC in group C rabbits. Despite no change in testicular DNA concentration among groups, food restriction decreased both RNA and protein compared with control. No treatment differences in the percentage of seminiferous tubules filled with all stages of spermatogenesis (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, and spermatids) and spermatozoa, as well as the area occupied by seminiferous tubules, were observed. Nevertheless, serum testosterone was markedly less in group C compared with groups A and B. These results suggest that angiogenesis may play a role in overcoming testicular nutritional impairment in rabbits subjected to food restriction.