Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation that affects various organs in the body, including the reproductive system, which is a key factor in male infertility. 1-Deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) is a natural alkaloid in mulberry leaves, which has anti-inflammatory capabilities, yet, it\'s effects on obesity-induced inflammation-related male infertility remain unclear. Therefore, this research investigates the underlying mechanism by which 1-DNJ may mitigate fertility impairment in male mice caused by obesity-related inflammation. Male mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity were treated with 1-DNJ or metformin for 8 weeks. Metabolic profiles were evaluated by enzyme method. Reproductive capacity was assessed by sperm viability, motility and counts, immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the testicular damage caused by obesity and inflammation. The inflammation was assessed by measuring the levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). The activation of IκB kinase β (IKKβ) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) was examined using western blot and immunohistochemistry. HFD induced obesity in mice with obvious lipid metabolism disorder. The obese male mice had a decreased testosterone level, impaired sperm motility, and increased inflammatory factors. 1-DNJ treatment improved the testosterone level in the obese mice, ameliorated the testicular structure damage and improve sperm viability. In addition, 1-DNJ treatment inhibited IKKβ/NF-kB signaling pathway and reduced inflammation in obese mice. 1-DNJ can improve the fertility of obese men by reducing obesity as well as obesity-induced inflammation. These findings provide new insights for 1-DNJ to alleviate inflammation caused by obesity and provide future possibilities for treating male infertility.

As a cotton defoliator, tribufos (S,S,S-tributyl phosphorotrithioate) is widespread in the environment. It can cause neurotoxicity in chickens, reproductive toxicity in rats, and can also cause headaches and nausea in humans. However, little is known about its impact on the reproduction of birds. Here, by analyzing the differences in reproductive indexs and histopathological characteristics, we investigated the chronic effects of 32 mg a.i./kg, 160 mg a.i./kg and 800 mg a.i./kg tribufos treatment on the reproductive ability of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The results indicated that 32 mg a.i./kg and 160 mg a.i./kg tribufos treatment significantly reduced the food intake of quails, significantly increased the broken egg rate, and had adverse effects on gonads and liver tissue. The 160 mg a.i./kg tribufos treatment also significantly reduced the average egg production. Moreover, 800 mg a.i./kg treatment had significant negative effects on feed intake (FI), body weight (BW), eggshell thickness, egg production (EP), fertilization rate, hatchability and progeny 14-d survival rate, and it also significantly increased the broken egg rate. In addition, tribufos exposure caused lesions in quail gonads and liver tissue. Overall, our results revealed that tribufos had adverse effects on the reproductive ability of Japanese quail, especially at high concentrations.

Waist circumference can be used as an anthropometric measure to assess central obesity and is easier and more convenient than the waist-to-hip ratio in identifying the risk of obesity and medical problems. Most studies showing an association between obesity and infertility in women have used BMI to measure obesity. Our goal was to examine any potential association between waist circumference and infertility.
This cross-sectional study, which formed part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), comprised women ages 18 to 45 between 2017 and 2020. Participants without waist circumference data or information on infertility were removed from the study. The independent relationship between waist circumference and infertility was investigated using weighted binary logistic regression and subgroup analysis.
We investigated 1509 participants and discovered that the prevalence of infertility rose as the WC trisection rose. (tertile 1, 7.55%; tertile 2, 10.56%; tertile 3, 15.28%; trend < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that after total adjustment, higher WC levels were associated with an increased likelihood of infertility in women (OR1.02; 95% CI 1.01-1.03), and There was a 2% rise in the incidence of infertility for every unit (cm) increased WC. Subgroup analysis and interaction tests showed no significant dependence of the effects of marital status, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol on the association between WC and infertility (p for all interaction tests > 0.05). The inflection point of the positive non-linear relationship between WC and infertility was 116.6 cm.
Excessive waist circumference assessment may increase the probability of infertility, and more attention should be paid to the management of waist circumference should be given more attention.

In recent years, sex-controlled breeding has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance the yields of economic animals with different growth characteristics, while increasing the economic benefits of aquaculture. It is known that the NF-κB pathway participates in gonadal differentiation and reproduction. Therefore, we used the large-scale loach as a research model for the present study and selected an effective inhibitor of the NF-κB signaling pathway (QNZ). This, to investigates the impacts of the NF-κB signaling pathway on gonadal differentiation during a critical period of gonad development and after maturation. Simultaneously, the sex ratio bias and the reproductive capacities of adult fish were analyzed. Our results indicated that the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway influenced the expression of genes related to gonad development, regulated the gene expression related to the brain-gonad-liver axis of juvenile loaches, and finally impacted the gonadal differentiation of the large-scale loach and promoted a male-biased sex ratio. Meanwhile, high QNZ concentrations affected the reproductive abilities of adult loaches and inhibited the growth performance of offspring. Thus, our results deepened the exploration of sex control in fish and provided a certain research basis for the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry.

Maternal effects are an evolutionary strategy used to improve offspring quality. In an example of maternal effects in honey bees (Apis mellifera), mother queens produce larger eggs in queen cells than in worker cells in order to breed better daughter queens. In our current study, morphological indexes, reproductive tissues, and the egg-laying ability of newly reared queens reared with eggs laid in queen cells (QE), eggs laid in worker cells (WE), and 2-day-old larvae in worker cells (2L) were evaluated. In addition, morphological indexes of offspring queens and working performance of offspring workers were examined. The thorax weight, number of ovarioles, egg length, and number of laid eggs and capped broods of QE were significantly higher than those of WE and 2L, indicating that the reproductive capacity of QE group was better than that of other groups. Furthermore, offspring queens from QE had larger thorax weights and sizes than those from the other two groups. Offspring worker bees from QE also had larger body sizes and greater pollen-collecting and royal jelly-producing abilities than those of other two groups. These results demonstrate that honey bees display profound maternal effects on queen quality that can be transmitted across generations. These findings provide a basis for improving queen quality, with implications in apicultural and agricultural production.

A suboptimal housing environment such as small cage size can adversely influence many aspects of the biology of laboratory animals including their response in behavioral tests. However, the effect of cage size on the mental and physical conditions of Kunming mice, which have been widely used to develop models of depression, anxiety, and many other diseases in China, are still far from clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cage size on reproductive ability, exploratory behavior, anxiety, and working memory of Kunming mice. Two cage sizes were used, including a standard cage (20 × 30 × 25 cm3) and a restricted cage (10 × 20 × 25 cm3). The results revealed that compared with mice in the standard cages, mice in the restricted cages showed: (I) a decreased delivery rate of dams (P < 0.05) and a lower survival rate of offspring (P < 0.05), specifically in females (P < 0.05); (II) a decreased exploratory behavior (P < 0.01) and an increased anxiety level (P < 0.01); and (III) higher working memory in the T-maze test (P < 0.05). These results indicated that a restricted cage size has detrimental effects on the reproductive ability and anxiety level, but its effect on cognitive ability is complex and warrants further study. In short, these results provide empirical evidence for better practices in caring for Kunming mice, with some cautions about the effects of cage size on behavioral tests.

Few studies exist on homozygous myostatin gene mutant (MSTN-/- ) pigs, especially on their reproductive ability. We have previously shown that semen quality of homozygous MSTN-/- boars is comparable to that of wild type (WT). However, no data exist on the reproductive ability of heterozygous MSTN gene mutant (MSTN+/ - ) sows. The present study highlights showed that the heterozygous MSTN+/ - sows have delayed pubertal age than WT sows (255.80 ± 6.79 versus 191.10 ± 3.42, respectively). The number of services per pregnancy of heterozygous MSTN+/ - sows is significantly higher than that of WT sows (3.33 ± 0.43 versus 1.60 ± 0.25, respectively). Moreover, although heterozygous MSTN+/ - sows have natural reproduction ability, their litter size was significantly lower than that of WT sows (7.75 ± 0.44 versus 14.25 ± 0.60, respectively). Offsprings generated from heterozygous MSTN+/ - sow and homozygous MSTN-/- boar were genotyped with the PCR and sequencing method to detect myostatin mutation and to identify whether the piglets are homozygous MSTN-/- or heterozygous MSTN+/ - . The proportion of homozygous MSTN-/- piglets was significantly lower than that of heterozygous MSTN+/ - piglets (2.50 ± 0.35 versus 5.25 ± 0.60, respectively). Furthermore, none of the sows presented dystocia, and the phenotype of heterozygous MSTN+/ - piglets was normal. However, 10% homozygous MSTN-/- piglets died of dyspnoea within 2 hr after birth, 60% of homozygous MSTN-/- piglets showed large tongues, and 50% had umbilical hernias. In summary, this study for the first time reports the reproduction traits of heterozygous MSTN+/ - sows crossbred with homozygous MSTN-/- boars. This study will pave the way in a new direction for the breeding and development of super lean meat varieties in the future.

As an endocrine disruptor, 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) is widespread in the environment. Here, we investigated the effect of long-term 4-NP dietary exposure on Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). A total of 72 quails were evenly divided into 24 cages (12 cages for the reproductive toxicity study and 12 cages for the histopathology study, with one male quail and two female quails in each cage) and fed with various doses of 4-NP in diet. The body weight in quails administered with 4-NP was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The egg fertilization rate significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in all treated groups, which was 91.4%, 86.5%, 85.4%, and 86.2% in the control group, 10 mg·kg-1, 20 mg·kg-1, and 50 mg·kg-1 treatment groups, respectively. Moreover, the hatching rate was also significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the 50 mg·kg-1 treatment group compared with the control group. Furthermore, the 14-day survival rate of young quails was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in all treated groups, which was 98.0%, 91.1%, 89.8%, and 86.8% in the control group, 10 mg·kg-1, 20 mg·kg-1, and 50 mg·kg-1 treatment groups, respectively. Damaged spermatogenesis in male quails was found in all treated groups. In conclusion, oral administration of 4-NP impaired the gonads of male quails, leading to reproduction performance damage of Japanese quails.

Kisspeptin, encoded by kiss1, has been regarded as a major modulator of mammalian puberty and fertility due to its stimulation on GnRH. Brandt\'s vole is one of the main pest species on the Inner Mongolian steppes for its striking reproductive capacity and kiss1 is a key candidate gene related to reproductive regulatory cascades. In this study, kiss1 cDNA was cloned from the hypothalamus of Brandt\'s voles and kiss1 mRNA levels were investigated in different tissues, and at different developmental stages, using high-throughput real-time PCR. The full-length kiss1 cDNA was 682bp, containing an ORF of 405bp, encoding 134 amino acids with a conserved kisspeptin-10 region. Kiss1 mRNA was specifically expressed in ovary, testicle, small intestine, kidney, liver and hypothalamus tissues, and was undetectable in other tissues, including pituitary, heart, adrenal gland, bladder and uterus. Sexual organs of both male and female voles enter a period of rapid development in the postnatal 4weeks and reach or approach sexual maturity by 8weeks after birth. Kiss1 mRNA levels in the hypothalamus did not show a significant difference between week 2 and week 4, indicating kiss1 mRNA levels may not be related to the rapid growth of the sexual organs in early developmental stages. Kiss1 transcripts significantly increased in both sexes 8weeks after birth, and then were maintained at high levels in adults, indicating its possible role in the onset of puberty and maintaining of reproductive activity. These results are helpful to further the study of kiss1 function in reproductive regulation of Brandt\'s voles.

4-nonylphenol (4-NP), a major degradation product of Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs), is widespread in environment. In this study, the effects of long-term 4-NP exposure in drinking water on Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) were investigated. A total of 45 quails were evenly divided into 15 groups and administrated with various doses (0.1 μg L-1, 1.0 μg L-1, 10 μg L-1 and 100 μg L-1, which reflected the environmental concentrations of 4-NP) of 4-NP in drinking water. The results showed that 4-NP in drinking water had no effect on quails\' food intake, but significantly decreased the quails\' body weights (P < 0.05) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The egg fertilization rates were also significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in all treatment groups. Moreover, the hatchability was significantly reduced (P < 0.05) in 10 μg L-1 and 100 μg L-1 groups, and the 14 d survival rates of young quails were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in 1.0 μg L-1, 10 μg L-1 and 100 μg L-1 groups. Damaged spermatogenesis in male quails was observed in all treatment groups. Therefore, administration of 4-NP in drinking water impaired the reproductive ability of Japanese quails, and led to pathological lesions in the male gonads.