Table 3.
Effect of multi-nutrient supplementation on gonadal morphology and pathology in a subset of Western diet-fed C57BL/6J mice.
| MALE | FEMALE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LF (n = 5) |
HF (n = 5) |
FE (n = 5) |
LF (n = 3) |
HF (n = 3) |
FE (n = 3) |
|
| Gonadal pathology | ||||||
| Testicular pathology | ||||||
| Mass (mg) | 189.5 ± 3.1 | 242.0 ± 9.5 * | 199.1 ± 8.4 § | NA | NA | NA |
| Seminiferous tubule diameter (AU; pixels) | 571.1 ± 10.0 | 604.7 ± 12.6 | 568.5 ± 24.0 | NA | NA | NA |
| Seminiferous epithelia (pathology score) | 0.9 ± 0.5 | 0.7 ± 0.2 | 0.5 ± 0.2 | NA | NA | NA |
| Seminiferous tubules with apoptosis (%) | 29.5 ± 1.7 | 38.1 ± 17.8 | 28.6 ± 5.4 | NA | NA | NA |
| Ovarian pathology | ||||||
| Mass (mg) | NA | NA | NA | 16.0 ± 1.0 | 19.4 ± 0.9 | 17.4 ± 1.0 |
| Volume (mm3) | NA | NA | NA | 0.046 ± 0.013 | 0.054 ± 0.010 | 0.040 ± 0.007 |
| Viable follicles (#) | NA | NA | NA | 61.7 ± 10.3 | 55.7 ± 19.9 | 55.7 ± 17.6 |
| Viable follicles (#/mm3) | NA | NA | NA | 1574.4 ± 465.6 | 986.1 ± 296.5 | 1344.5 ± 301.7 |
| Growing follicles (#) | NA | NA | NA | 29.0 ± 2.9 | 23.0 ± 7.9 | 29.0 ± 8.7 |
| Growing follicles (#/mm3) | NA | NA | NA | 754.5 ± 209.2 | 402.9 ± 73.9 | 691.6 ± 134.6 |
| Atretic follicles (#) | NA | NA | NA | 18.0 ± 1.5 | 26.0 ± 1.0 * | 12.0 ± 1.0 § |
| Atretic follicles (#/mm3) | NA | NA | NA | 461.6 ± 128.5 | 512.8 ± 85.0 | 317.6 ± 52.1 |
| Apoptotic granulosa cells (#/ovary) | NA | NA | NA | 424.0 ± 109.1 | 606.5 ± 321.1 | 364.2 ± 81.6 |
| Apoptotic granulosa cells (#/follicle) | NA | NA | NA | 15.1 ± 5.7 | 15.6 ± 7.5 | 14.5 ± 2.9 |
Seminiferous epithelia pathology and ovarian follicular stages assessed in hematoxylin and eosin-stained paraffin cross-sections (200× total magnification; Image J Software). Apoptotic cells were counted in seminiferous tubules and ovarian follicles following TUNEL-staining (200×). Seminiferous epithelia were scored as 0 (healthy), 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), or 3 (severe) pathology. Viable follicles = all follicles counted excluding atretic and corpora lutea. Growing follicles = all follicles counted excluding primordial, atretic, and corpora lutea. Follicles containing dark, pyknotic nuclei within the granulosa cells were considered atretic. LF = Low Fat Diet, HF = Western diet (WD), and FE = ‘Fertility Enhancer’ multi-nutrient supplement with WD. * Significantly different from LF (p ≤ 0.05). § Significantly different from HF (p ≤ 0.05).