scholarly journals Stereological assessment of the effects of vitamin D deficiency on the rat testis

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Zamani ◽  
Forough Saki ◽  
Neda Hatami ◽  
Farhad Koohpeyma

Abstract Background Accumulating evidence suggests that low vitamin D status may affect male gonadal structure. This study was undertaken to reveal whether vitamin D-deficient rats have demonstrable changes in the quantitative histomorphometric properties of the testis. Methods In the present investigation, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups and received: group 1) conventional diet; group 2) vitamin D-deficient diet; group 3) vitamin D-deficient diet and paricalcitol and group 4) conventional diet plus paricalcitol. After 3 months, serum levels of vitamin D metabolites, Ca, P, LH, FSH, testosterone, and epididymal sperm quality were evaluated. Moreover, the morphometric characteristics of testis were assessed via stereological methods. Results Rats fed a vitamin D-deficient diet (groups 2 and 3) were normocalcemic and had 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 level below 10 ng/mL. A significant reduction in serum testosterone and comparable gonadotropin levels were seen in vitamin D-deficient groups compared to controls. The concentration, morphology, and motility of sperm cells were profoundly disturbed in animals raised on the vitamin D-deficient diet. There was a significant decline in the population of different germ cells, the volume of interstitial tissue and germinal epithelium in group 2 and 3 rats, which were placed on the vitamin D-deficient diet. No appreciable difference in the estimates of the Leydig or Sertoli cell numbers were observed between groups. Conclusions The depletion of vitamin D stores and induction of moderate grades of vitamin D deficiency by dietary measures led to remarkable impairment of spermatogenesis and microscopic architecture of rat testis. These findings can be attributed, at least in part, to decreased androgen production.

1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 638-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Cheville ◽  
R. L. Horst

Structural changes in bone, parathyroid, and ultimobranchial body were examined in three groups of chicks fed a vitamin D-deficient diet; one group was treated with vitamin D3 and another with 1,25(OH)2D3. Diets were fed from day of hatching until 5 weeks old, when deficient chicks were near death due to hypocalcemic tetany, loss of fat and muscle, and marked bone deformities. In deficient chicks, parathyroid mass increased linearly to 7.5 times normal at 5 weeks. Parathyroid cells were irregular and vacuolated, with few granules. Vitamin D3 treatment (daily from hatching) prevented these changes. Chicks treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 had normal parathyroids until the fifth week, when parathyroid mass increased greatly. There were few differences in length of growth cartilage, but marked changes in length of metaphyses. Deficient chicks had metaphyses nearly five times longer than vitamin D3-treated chicks. Metaphyses in chicks given 1,25(OH)2D3 were twice as long as those of vitamin D-treated chicks at 5 weeks. Both osteoblasts and osteoclasts were more numerous in deficient chicks. These studies suggest that vitamin D3 is more effective than 1,25(OH)2D3 in preventing parathyroid and bone lesions of vitamin D deficiency.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea W. D. Stavenuiter ◽  
Maria Vittoria Arcidiacono ◽  
Evelina Ferrantelli ◽  
Eelco D. Keuning ◽  
Marc Vila Cuenca ◽  
...  

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a range of clinical disorders. To study the mechanisms involved and improve treatments, animal models are tremendously useful. Current vitamin D deficient rat models have important practical limitations, including time requirements when using, exclusively, a vitamin D deficient diet. More importantly, induction of hypovitaminosis D causes significant fluctuations in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and mineral levels, complicating the interpretation of study results. To overcome these shortcomings, we report the successful induction of vitamin D deficiency within three weeks, with stable serum PTH and minerals levels, in Wistar rats. We incorporated two additional manoeuvres compared to a conventional diet. Firstly, the vitamin D depleted diet is calcium (Ca) enriched, to attenuate the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Secondly, six intraperitoneal injections of paricalcitol during the first two weeks are given to induce the rapid degradation of circulating vitamin D metabolites. After three weeks, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3(25D) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3(1,25D) levels had dropped below detection limits, with unchanged serum PTH, Ca, and phosphate (P) levels. Therefore, this model provides a useful tool to examine the sole effect of hypovitaminosis D, in a wide range of research settings, without confounding changes in PTH, Ca, and P.


Author(s):  
Matthew F Warren ◽  
Kimberly A Livingston

Abstract The risk of vitamin D insufficiency in humans is a global problem that requires improving ways to increase vitamin D intake. Supplements are a primary means for increasing vitamin D intake, but without a clear consensus on what constitutes vitamin D sufficiency, there is toxicity risk with taking supplements. Chickens have been used in many vitamin D-related research studies, especially studies involving vitamin D supplementation. Our state-of-the-art review evaluates vitamin D metabolism and how the different hydroxylated forms are synthesized. We provide an overview with how vitamin D is absorbed, transported, excreted, and what tissues in the body store vitamin D metabolites. We also discuss a number of studies involving vitamin D supplementation with broilers and laying hens. Vitamin D deficiency and toxicity are also described and how they can be caused. The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is important for vitamin D metabolism. However, there is much more that can be understood with VDR in chickens. Potential research aims involving vitamin D and chickens should explore VDR mechanisms which could lead to newer insights with VDR. Utilizing chickens in future research to help with elucidating vitamin D mechanisms has great potential to advance human nutrition. Finding ways to increase vitamin D intake will be necessary because the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic is leading to increased risk of vitamin D deficiency in many populations. Chickens can provide a dual purpose with addressing pandemic-caused vitamin D deficiency: 1) vitamin D supplementation gives chickens added value with possibly leading to vitamin D-enriched meat and egg products; and 2) chickens’ use in research provides data for translational research. Expanding vitamin D-related research in chickens to include more nutritional aims in vitamin D status has great implications with developing better strategies to improve human health.


2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 1915-1923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherlyn Ding ◽  
Dan Gao ◽  
John Wilding ◽  
Paul Trayhurn ◽  
Chen Bing

Vitamin D deficiency and the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity are both considered important public health issues. The classical role of vitamin D is in Ca homoeostasis and bone metabolism. Growing evidence suggests that the vitamin D system has a range of physiological functions, with vitamin D deficiency contributing to the pathogenesis of several major diseases, including obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Clinical studies have shown that obese individuals tend to have a low vitamin D status, which may link to the dysregulation of white adipose tissue. Recent studies suggest that adipose tissue may be a direct target of vitamin D. The expression of both the vitamin D receptor and 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) genes has been shown in murine and human adipocytes. There is evidence that vitamin D affects body fat mass by inhibiting adipogenic transcription factors and lipid accumulation during adipocyte differentiation. Some recent studies demonstrate that vitamin D metabolites also influence adipokine production and the inflammatory response in adipose tissue. Therefore, vitamin D deficiency may compromise the normal metabolic functioning of adipose tissue. Given the importance of the tissue in energy balance, lipid metabolism and inflammation in obesity, understanding the mechanisms of vitamin D action in adipocytes may have a significant impact on the maintenance of metabolic health. In the present review, we focus on the signalling role of vitamin D in adipocytes, particularly the potential mechanisms through which vitamin D may influence adipose tissue development and function.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 2070
Author(s):  
Sagul R. Mugunthan ◽  
Yashwant K. Rao ◽  
Tanu Midha ◽  
Anurag Bajpai

Background: Vitamin D deficiency remains the most common cause of rickets globally and is highly prevalent in developing countries including India. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of vitamin D and calcium together with calcium alone on growth parameters of children with vitamin D deficiency in community based setting.Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in community based setting in Kanpur district. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select a total of 395 children between 2 years to 5 years from 5 villages of block Vidhunu. Of these, 138 children were randomized into two groups using balanced block randomization technique. Group 1 received vitamin D with calcium together and group 2 received calcium alone for a period of 12 months. Anthropometry, serum vitamin D, calcium, alkaline phosphatase levels were estimated at baseline and after 12 months. Data was analyzed using SPSS 20. Student’s t test was used to analyze the differences in growth and laboratory parameters in the two groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the effect of various factors on the growth parameters.Results: Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 78.7%. Baseline characteristics of both groups were similar. After 12 months, group 1 demonstrated significantly greater improvement in weight SD score (21.4%) and height SD score (10.3%) and growth velocity (9.1 cm/year) compared to group 2 (14.3%, 7.8% and 6.9 cm/ year respectively). Also subjects in group 1 showed significantly greater improvement in serum levels of vitamin D, calcium and alkaline phosphatase than group 2.Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation along with calcium improves the growth of children. Regular supplementation of all children with vitamin D can be considered as a policy for prevention of malnutrition. 


1984 ◽  
Vol 246 (3) ◽  
pp. E216-E220
Author(s):  
R. Brommage ◽  
H. F. DeLuca

Vitamin D deficiency was induced in lactating rats and their pups by placing female rats on a vitamin D-deficient diet immediately after mating. Evidence of vitamin D deficiency included undetectable plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in the dams, maternal hypocalcemia, the lack of pup growth, and pup hypocalcemia following starvation. This method of producing vitamin D-deficient pups was then used to determine whether the failure of vitamin D-deficient pups to grow properly results from a maternal or neonatal defect. Vitamin D-deficient dams and pups were injected with either vitamin D3 or the ethanol vehicle, and pup growth was monitored over the subsequent 6 days. Providing vitamin D3 to the pups directly had no effect on their growth, but administering vitamin D3 to the dams resulted in a tripling of the pup growth rate. The failure of vitamin D3 to promote pup growth when given directly to the pups was not the result of their inability to metabolize the vitamin because these pups converted [3H]-vitamin D3 to 25(OH)D3, 24,25(OH)2D3, and 1,25(OH)2D3 as determined by comigration with standards on both straight and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography systems. These results demonstrate that a maternal defect is responsible for the growth failure observed in vitamin D-deficient rat pups.


1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (6) ◽  
pp. F674-F678 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Friedlaender ◽  
Z. Kornberg ◽  
H. Wald ◽  
M. M. Popovtzer

The effects of 1 alpha (OH)vitamin D3 [1 alpha (OH)D3] and 24,25(OH)2vitamin D3 [24,25(OH)2D3] on the phosphaturic action of parathyroid hormone (PTH) were studied in two groups of parathyroidectomized (PTX) rats. In group 1, PTX PTH-infused rats received intravenous 1 alpha (OH)D3, and in group 2, PTX PTH-infused rats received intravenous 24,25(OH)2D3. PTX PTH-infused rats served as controls. The effects of both vitamin D metabolites on renal PTH-activated adenylate cyclase (AC) were studied in vitro. In group 1, PTH increased fractional excretion of phosphate (CP/CIn) from 0.045 +/- 0.012 (+/- SE) to 0.263 +/- 0.011 (P less than 0.005). 1 alpha (OH)D3 failed to influence this response. In group 2, PTH increased CP/CIn from 0.055 +/- 0.008 to 0.289 +/- 0.027 (P less than 0.005). 24,25(OH)2D3 reduced the PTH-induced rise in CP/CIn from 0.289 +/- 0.027 to 0.192 +/- 0.021 (P less than 0.01) and decreased the urinary excretion of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. In vitro, 24,25(OH)2D3 blunted the PTH-activated AC, whereas 1 alpha (OH)D3 had no effect. These results show that 24,25(OH)D3, similar to two other 25(OH) metabolites of vitamin D-25(OH)vitamin D3 and 1,25(OH)2vitamin D3-suppresses the phosphaturic action of PTH, whereas 1 alpha(OH)D3, which is devoid of a 25(OH) group, lacks this effect. This suggests that a 25(OH) group is a prerequisite for the antiphosphaturic effect of vitamin D, whereas the 1 alpha (OH) group is not essential for this action.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A281-A282
Author(s):  
Alexandra Povaliaeva ◽  
Liudmila Ya Rozhinskaya ◽  
Ekaterina A Pigarova ◽  
Larisa K Dzeranova ◽  
Nino N Katamadze ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: to assess the state of vitamin D metabolism in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. Materials and methods: We examined 49 patients, which were hospitalized for inpatient treatment of COVID-19 infection from May to June 2020. Study group included 24 men (49%) and 25 women (51%), median age 58 years [48; 70], BMI 26.4 kg/m2 [24.3; 30.5]. All patients were diagnosed with pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 with median percent of lung involvement equal to 29% [14; 37], 22 patients (45%) required oxygen support upon admission. Median SpO2 was equal to 95% (92; 97), median NEWS score was equal to 3 [2; 6]. Participants were tested for vitamin D metabolites (25(OH)D3, 1,25(OH)2D3, 3-epi-25(OH)D3, 24,25(OH)2D3 and D3) by UPLC-MS/MS, free 25(OH)D and vitamin D-binding protein by ELISA, as well as PTH by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and routine biochemical parameters of blood serum (calcium, phosphorus, albumin) at the time of admission. Results: patients had in general very low 25()D3 levels - median 10.9 ng/mL [6.9; 15.6], corresponding to a pronounced vitamin D deficiency in half of the patients. Levels of 24,25(OH)2D3 were also low – 0.5 ng/mL [0.2; 0.9], and resulting vitamin D metabolite ratios (25(OH)D3/24,25(OH)2D3) were high-normal or elevated in most patients – 24.1 [19.0; 39.2], indicating decreased activity of 24-hydroxylase. Levels of 1,25(OH)2D3, on the contrary, were high-normal or elevated - 57 pg/mL [46; 79], which, in accordance with 25(OH)D3/1,25(OH)2D3 ratio (219 [134; 266]) suggests an increase in 1α-hydroxylase activity. Median level of 3-epi-25(OH)D3 was 0.7 ng/mL [0.4; 1.0] and D3 metabolite was detectable only in 6 patients. Median DBP level was 432 mg/L [382; 498], median free 25(OH)D was 5.6 pg/mL [3.3; 6.7], median calculated free 25(OH)D was 2.0 pg/mL [1.4; 3.3]. Most patients had albumin-adjusted serum calcium level in the lower half of reference range (median 2.24 mmol/L [2.14; 2.34]). Seven patients had secondary hyperparathyroidism and one patient had primary hyperparathyroidism, the rest of the patients had PTH levels within the normal range.25(OH)D3 levels showed significant negative correlation with percent of lung involvement (r = -0.36, p<0.05) and positive correlation with SpO2 (r = 0.4, p<0.05). 1,25(OH)2D3 levels correlated positively with 25(OH)D3 levels (r = 0.38, p<0.05) and did not correlate significantly with PTH levels (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our data suggests that hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection have significant impairment of vitamin D metabolism, in particular, an increase in 1α-hydroxylase activity, which cannot be fully explained by pre-existing conditions such as vitamin D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. The observed profound vitamin D deficiency and association of vitamin D levels with markers of disease severity indicate the importance of vitamin D supplementation in these patients.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siva Swapna Kasarla ◽  
Sujatha Dodoala ◽  
Sunitha Sampathi ◽  
Narendra Kumar Talluri

AbstractVitamin D deficiency is an endemic problem existing worldwide. Although several strategies were established to enhance vitamin D3 levels, studies specifically focussing inhibition of vitamin D metabolism which may prolong the availability of active vitamin D in pathological conditions are less explored. Studies also suggest that higher doses of vitamin D3 fail to achieve optimum vitamin D levels. In this context, we focussed on the enzyme CYP3A4 which promotes inactivation of active vitamin D. The current study was aimed to decipher the impact of chrysin, a proven CYP3A4 inhibitor as an intervention and its effects in combination with low dose vitamin D3 (40 IU) and bone health in vitamin D deficiency condition. The in-vivo activity of chrysin was evaluated on female Wistar albino rats fed with a vitamin D deficient diet to attain vitamin D deficiency for 28 days. Chrysin was given alone and in combination with calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and/or vitamin D3. All the therapeutic interventions were assessed for serum 25-OH-D3 by LC-MS, biochemical, urinary, and bone parameters. Animals treated with chrysin alone and in combination with low dose vitamin D3 and/or CaCO3 showed an eminent rise in serum 25-OH-D3 levels along with increased serum biochemical parameters. On contrary, a significant decrease in the urinary parameters followed by beneficial effects on bone parameters was noticed in contrast with the vitamin D deficient diet group. Our findings revealed that although chrysin alone showed a notable effect on 25-OH-D3 and osseous tissue, comparatively it showed intensified therapeutic effect in combination with vitamin D3 and CaCO3 which can be employed as a cost-effective option to improve bone health.Graphical Abstract


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1880-6
Author(s):  
Feyzi Gokosmanoglu ◽  
Attila Onmez ◽  
Hasan Ergenç

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is frequently seen in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and has been shown to exhibit multiple effects on the disease process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of vitamin D deficiency in complex PCOS pathophysiological pathways. Methods: Two hundred sixty-seven patients with PCOS were divided into two groups Group 1 with 25(OH)D3 deficiency, and Group 2 with normal 25(OH)D3. Biochemical and hormonal parameters (androgen hormones, gonadotropins, and thyroid function tests) were compared between the two groups. Results: Eighty-six percent of the patients (n=231) were in Group 1 and 14% (n=36) in Group 2. Statistically signifi- cantly higher concentrations of serum testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate and LH were determined in Group 1 (p<0.05). 25(OH)D3 concentrations were negatively correlated with body mass index (r=−0.459), serum testosterone (r =−0.374) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate levels (r=−0.418); (all; p< 0.05). Conclusion: The study findings show that low 25(OH)D3 levels are associated with high androgen levels in women with PCOS. Vitamin D deficiency should be considered as an additional risk factor in the development of PCOS. We think that providing vitamin D supplementation for women from identified deficiency areas can reduce the risk of PCOS development. Keywords: Polycystic ovarian syndrome; vitamin D deficiency; androgen hormones; testosterone.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document