Effects of increasing intake of soybean oil on synthesis of testosterone in Leydig cells

• Published in: Nutrition & metabolism 2021-05, Vol.18 (1), p.1-53, Article 53
• Main Authors: Su, Yu, Tian, Zhenhua, Qi, Xiangyu, Luo, Dandan, Liu, Luna, Liu, Shuang, Zheng, Dongmei, Wei, Fang, He, Zhao, Guan, Qingbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibodies; Biosynthesis; Cholesterol; Chorionic gonadotropin; Cytochrome; Cytochrome P450; Diet; Dietary intake; Edible oils; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Food; Gas chromatography; Glucose; Gonadotropins; Health aspects; Immunoblotting; Laboratory animals; Leydig cells; Linoleic acid; Linoleic acid (LA); Linolenic acid; Lipids; Luteinizing hormone; Luteinizing hormone (LH); Palmitic acid; Physiological aspects; Pituitary (anterior); Proteins; Soy oil; Soybean oil; Soybeans; Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; Testosterone; Vegetable oils; α-linolenic acid (ALA)
• ISSN: 1743-7075; 1743-7075
• DOI: 10.1186/s12986-021-00580-1

Soybean oil is a very common edible oil in daily life. With the changes in the dietary composition, the intake of soybean oil increased. However, the effects of dietary intake of soybean oil on testosterone production are still unclear. In order to study the effects of increasing intake of soybean oil on the synthesis of testosterone in Leydig cells, we fed male C57BL/6 mice on the diet which added 20% soybean salad oil (SOY group). We detected the hormone levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits and serum fatty acid composition by gas chromatography, and analyzed the expression of steroidogenic enzymes by Real-Time PCR or immunoblotting analysis. After the 16-week feeding period, serum linoleic acid (LA) and [alpha]-linolenic acid (ALA) significantly increased and serum palmitic acid (PA) significantly decreased in SOY group mice. Compared to the normal diet (ND group), increasing intake of soybean oil raised the luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and up-regulated luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member I (CYP11A1). Testosterone levels in SOY group were higher than that in the ND group, and significantly difference showed. Increasing intake of soybean oil could raise the serum LA and ALA levels and decrease serum PA levels. This could activate the LH/LHCGR pathway and improve the function of steroid synthesis in Leydig cells, and finally lead to the elevated testosterone levels.