When idiopathic male infertility is rooted in maternal malnutrition during the perinatal period in mice

Infertility represents a growing burden worldwide, with one in seven couples presenting difficulties conceiving. Amongst these, 10–15% of the men have idiopathic infertility that does not correlate with any defect in the classical sperm parameters measured. In the present study, we used a mouse model to investigate the effects of maternal undernutrition on fertility in male progeny. Our results indicate that mothers fed on a low protein diet during gestation and lactation produce male offspring with normal sperm morphology, concentration and motility but exhibiting an overall decrease of fertility when they reach adulthood. Particularly, in contrast to control, sperm from these offspring show a remarkable lower capacity to fertilize oocytes when copulation occurs early in the estrus cycle relative to ovulation, due to an altered sperm capacitation. Our data demonstrate for the first time that maternal nutritional stress can have long-term consequences on the reproductive health of male progeny by affecting sperm physiology, especially capacitation, with no observable impact on spermatogenesis and classical quantitative and qualitative sperm parameters. Moreover, our experimental model could be of major interest to study, explain, and ultimately treat certain categories of infertilities.

Agricultural Biodiversity and Coastal Food Systems: A Socio-ecological and Trans-ecosystem Case Study in Aurora Province, Philippines

This paper presents a ridge-to-reef case study on Philippine biodiversity conservation that focused on reducing agricultural chemicals as a contribution to development goals of optimized food security, improving water quality, and mitigating maternal malnutrition. Building upon an earlier study that engaged participants and jurisdictions, farmers were oriented on biodiversity considerations and engaged in ecologically-based rodent management that was extended across the province of Aurora through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. Subsequently, a Participatory Action Research and Learning (PARL) cycle was conducted among 14 farmer participants to support biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Developed with local farmers, a biodiversity assessment demonstrated that organic approaches in rice farms increased arthropod biodiversity and reduced the number of key insect pests. The organizational results from this biodiversity study further indicated that local government participation can promote positive change by helping overcome the disconnect between communities and sustainability research. The approach to biodiversity-friendly agriculture reached a milestone through the collaborative development of an agricultural protected area supported by drafting a municipal ordinance to encourage the continued expansion of biodiversity-friendly agriculture and reductions in the chemical load of a key Aurora watershed. This paper discusses the biodiversity analysis and organizational results within the context of trans-ecosystem knowledge management and the goal of improving chronic maternal malnutrition that has been identified in coastal settlements of Aurora.

Doença falciforme, estado nutricional e sua relação com intercorrências obstétricas

A anemia falciforme (AF) é uma doença autossômica recessiva, que leva à produção de hemoglobina anormal, denominada hemoglobina S (HbS). Seus portadores sofrem com o crescimento deficiente, desde a infância, além de disfunções endócrinas, baixo consumo alimentar, alto requerimento energético, deficiência de minerais, que podem resultar em desnutrição. Durante a gestação, está associada ao aumento de complicações relacionadas à própria doença, morbimortalidade materna e perinatal mais elevada, nascimento de crianças com baixo peso e maiores taxas de complicações infecciosas puerperais. O objetivo do estudo foi buscar, através de uma revisão integrativa, esclarecer sobre o estado nutricional e as complicações clínicas de gestantes com anemia falciforme. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo exploratório, por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica. Sendo a seleção e a localização das referências retiradas das bases de dados PubMed/LILACS, Plos One e da biblioteca eletrônica SciELO, utilizando também a Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), a fim de identificar artigos científicos publicados no período entre 2008 e 2020, utilizando os seguintes descritores: anemia falciforme e intercorrências obstétricas; anemia falciforme e gestante; hemoglobina S e gestante e versões em inglês. Verificou-se que gestantes portadoras de anemia falciforme possuem maior propensão a complicações, como aborto espontâneo, crescimento intra-uterino restrito, aumento da mortalidade fetal intra-útero, recém-nascido de baixo peso, trabalho de parto pré-termo, somados à deficiência de macro e micronutrientes durante o período gestacional, podendo chegar à desnutrição materna e à morbimortalidade materna e neonatal. Em suma, a suscetibilidade à desnutrição materna, infecções, complicações hemolíticas e vaso-oclusivas de gestantes com anemia falciforme mostrou-se um prognóstico desfavorável, trazendo consigo complicações para a mãe e o neonato. Reforçando a importância do acompanhamento nutricional como estratégia de prevenção e orientação relativas às alterações nutricionais das gestantes portadoras da doença, como alternativa para a minimização dos resultados adversos e garantir melhoria da saúde materna e fetal. Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an autosomal recessive disease that leads to the production of abnormal hemoglobin called hemoglobin S (HbS). Their carriers suffer from deficient growth, since childhood, in addition to endocrine dysfunction, low food consumption, high energy requirement, mineral deficiency, which can result in malnutrition. During pregnancy, it is associated with an increase in complications related to the disease itself, higher maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, birth of low birth weight children and higher rates of puerperal infectious complications. The aim of the study was to seek, through an integrative review, to clarify the nutritional status and clinical complications of pregnant women with sickle cell anemia. For that, an exploratory study was carried out, through bibliographical research. With the selection and location of references taken from the PubMed/LILACS, Plos One and SciELO electronic library databases, also using the Virtual Health Library (VHL), in order to identify scientific articles published in the period between 2008 and 2020, using the following descriptors: sickle cell anemia and obstetric complications; sickle cell anemia and pregnant women; hemoglobin S and pregnant women and English versions. It was found that pregnant women with sickle cell anemia are more prone to complications, such as miscarriage, restricted intrauterine growth, increased intrauterine fetal mortality, low birth weight newborn, preterm labor, in addition to disability of macro and micronutrients during the gestational period, which can lead to maternal malnutrition and maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. In short, the susceptibility to maternal malnutrition, infections, hemolytic and vaso-occlusive complications of pregnant women with sickle cell anemia proved to be an unfavorable prognosis, bringing with it complications for the mother and the newborn. Reinforcing the importance of nutritional monitoring as a prevention and guidance strategy regarding nutritional changes in pregnant women with the disease, as an alternative to minimizing adverse outcomes and ensuring improved maternal and fetal health.

Quantification of fetal organ sparing in maternal low-protein dietary models

Background: Maternal malnutrition can lead to fetal growth restriction. This is often associated with organ sparing and long-lasting physiological dysfunctions during adulthood, although the underlying mechanisms are not yet well understood. Methods: Low protein (LP) dietary models in C57BL/6J mice were used to investigate the proximal effects of maternal malnutrition on fetal organ weights and organ sparing at embryonic day 18.5 (E18.5). Results: Maternal 8% LP diet induced strikingly different degrees of fetal growth restriction in different animal facilities, but adjustment of dietary protein content allowed similar fetal body masses to be obtained. A maternal LP diet that restricted fetal body mass by 40% did not decrease fetal brain mass to the same extent, reflecting positive growth sparing of this organ. Under these conditions, fetal pancreas and liver mass decreased by 60-70%, indicative of negative organ sparing. A series of dietary swaps between LP and standard diets showed that the liver is capable of efficient catch-up growth from as late as E14.5 whereas, after E10.5, the pancreas is not. Conclusions: This study highlights that the reproducibility of LP fetal growth restriction studies between laboratories can be improved by careful calibration of maternal dietary protein content. LP diets that induce 30-40% restriction of prenatal growth provide a good model for fetal organ sparing. For the liver, recovery of growth following protein restriction is efficient throughout fetal development but, for the pancreas, transient LP exposures spanning the progenitor expansion phase lead to an irreversible fetal growth deficit.

Tradition, taste and taboo: the gastroecology of maternal perinatal diet

BackgroundMaternal malnutrition is a major source of regional health inequity and contributes to maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Bihar, a state in eastern India adjacent to Jharkhand and West Bengal, has relatively high neonatal mortality rates because a large portion of infants are born to young mothers. Bihar has the second-highest proportion of underweight children under 3 in India, with infant mortality rates of 48 per 1000 live births. Maternal malnutrition remains a major threat to perinatal health in Bihar, where 58.3% of pregnant women are anaemic.MethodsWe examined dietary beliefs and practices among mothers, mothers-in-law and community members, including Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), using focus group discussions (n=40 groups, 213 participants), key informant interviews (n=50 participants) and quantitative surveys (n=1200 recent mothers and 400 community health workers). We report foods that are added/avoided during the perinatal period, along with stated reasons underlying food choice. We summarise the content of the diet based on responses to the quantitative survey and identify influencers of food choice and stated explanations for adding and avoiding foods.Key findingsAnalyses for all methodologies included gathering frequency counts and running descriptive statistics by food item, recommendation to eat or avoid, pregnancy or post partum, food group and health promoting or risk avoiding. During pregnancy, commonly added foods were generally nutritious (milk, pulses) with explanations for consuming these foods related to promoting health. Commonly avoided foods during pregnancy were also nutritious (wood apples, eggplant) with explanations for avoiding these foods related to miscarriage, newborn appearance and issues with digestion. Post partum, commonly added foods included sweets because they ease digestion whereas commonly avoided foods included eggplants and oily or spicy foods. Family, friends, relatives or neighbours influenced food choice for both mothers and ASHAs more than ASHAs and other health workers.Perinatal dietary beliefs and behaviours are shaped by local gastroecologies or systems of knowledge and practice that surround and inform dietary choices, as well as how those choices are explained and influenced. Our data provide novel insight into how health influencers operating within traditional and biomedical health systems shape the perinatal dietary beliefs of both mothers and community health workers.

Placental adaptation to maternal malnutrition

Maternal malnutrition gives rise to both short- and long-term consequences for the survival and health of the offspring. As the intermediary between mother and fetus, the placenta has the potential to interpret environmental signals, such as nutrient availability, and adapt to support fetal growth and development. While this potential is present, it is clear that at times, placental adaptation fails to occur resulting in poor pregnancy outcomes. This review will focus on placental responses to maternal undernutrition related to changes in placental vascularization and hemodynamics and placental nutrient transport systems across species. While much of the available literature describes placental responses that result in poor fetal outcomes, novel models have been developed to utilize the inherent variation in fetal weight when dams are nutrient restricted to identify placental adaptations that result in normal weight offspring. Detailed analyses of the spectrum of placental responses to maternal malnutrition point to alternations in placental histoarchitectural and vascular development, amino acid and lipid transport mechanisms, and modulation of immune related factors. Dietary supplementation with select nutrients, such as arginine, have the potential to improve placental growth and function through a variety of mechanisms including stimulating cell proliferation, protein synthesis, angiogenesis, vasodilation, and gene regulation. Improved understanding of placental responses to environmental cues is necessary to develop diagnostic and intervention strategies to improve pregnancy outcomes.

MicroRNA and mRNA Sequencing Analyses Reveal Key Hepatic Metabolic Pathways Responsive to Maternal Malnutrition in Full-Term Fetal Pigs

Objectives Maternal and infant undernutrition is highly prevalent in developing countries, leading to serious fetus/infant mortality, intrauterine growth restriction, stunting, and severe wasting. However, the effects of maternal undernutrition have generally focused on the reduced maternal nutrient supply to the fetus. The potential impairment of fetal metabolic pathways has not been well studied. Methods Pregnant gilts (Landrace x Yorkshire x Duroc) received the NRC gestation diet with (n = 4) or without (n = 4) 50% intake restriction at insemination day and 70% for the following gestation period. Full term fetuses were obtained via C-section, two piglets were selected from each gilt in both groups and subject to hepatic tissue collection. MicroRNA and mRNA deep sequencing analysis was performed using the Illumina GAIIx system. The mRNA-miRNA correlation and associated signaling pathways were analyzed via CLC workbench, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Software. Results A total of 42 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified between intake-restriction and full-nutrition group. Among of these, mir-206, mir-133b, mir-1246, mir-1843 and mir-7139 are the most downregulated and mir-10b, mir-708 and mir-222 are the most upregulated miRNAs. A total of 1215 mRNAs were identified to differentially expressed between two groups. Two metabolic pathways: retinol biosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation were significantly modified, and the modification was associated with the miRNA changes induced by the maternal feed restriction. Briefly, the retinol biosynthesis pathway was upregulated (p < 0.01), in which those differential expressed mir-221, mir-4492, mir-1281 and mir-4492 were predicted targeting genes AADAC, CES3, PNPLA3 and RDH13 in the pathway. The oxidative phosphorylation pathway was upregulated (p < 0.05), and those differential expressed mir-1843, mir-222 and mir-184 were predicted targeting genes ATP5F1C, NDUFA1, NDUFB10, and NDUFS7 in this pathway. Conclusions These results provide the framework for further understanding of negative impact of maternal malnutrition on hepatic metabolic pathways via miRNA-RNA interactions in full-term fetal pigs. Funding Sources Supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (GCE OPP1061037) and by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service.