High-fat diet-induced obesity accelerates puberty in male rats through SMIM20/phoenixin upregulation

作者：Tao Xie, Wei Qin, Dan Zeng, Runqi Wang, Shuting Chen, Yanfei Chen, Jingzi Zhong, Dan Lan · 发表于：Frontiers in Endocrinology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fendo.2025.1711374 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones、Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities、Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors

Background Controversy exists regarding the relationship between obesity and pubertal onset in boys, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Objective To establish a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity model in juvenile male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, and to investigate the relationship between obesity and pubertal advancement as well as the role of Smim20 /phoenixin (PNX) in male pubertal development. Methods A HFD (45% fat) was administered to male SD rats to induce obesity, while control rats were maintained on a normal diet (ND) from birth. Body weight and preputial separation were monitored as markers of obesity and pubertal onset. At prepubertal (postnatal day 30, PND30) and early pubertal (PND40) stages, serum, hypothalamus, pituitary, testes, and adipose tissue were collected. RT-qPCR was performed to measure the mRNA expression levels of key genes in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPGA), including gonadotropin-releasing hormone ( GnRH ), Kiss1 , G protein-coupled receptor 54 ( GPR54 ), GnRH receptor ( GnRHr ), and Smim20 . Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, and PNX protein were measured by ELISA. Associations among obesity (body mass index, BMI), PNX, and pubertal timing were evaluated using Spearman’s correlation. Results HFD-fed rats exhibited significantly greater body weight and fat mass than ND-fed rats at both time points. (P<0.001), with earlier preputial separation (P<0.001). Testicul...