الفهرس 
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Abstract
Male infertility has been linked to obesity. Pathological alterations in testicular ultrastructure and increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells are caused by obesity. One possible cause of infertility in overweight persons is a shortage of mature sperm.
Lipid metabolism may be affected by the obesity-related disruption in trace element metabolism. Zinc ions are found mostly in the testes, epididymis, prostate, and sperm of male reproductive systems. The presence of zinc in the blood might indicate how well the prostate is doing. In addition, it helps keep sperm motile, controls sperm activity, and works as a cofactor in most enzymatic activities. The production of testicles and sperm is also aided by zinc.
We targeted to study the effect of Zn supplementation on testicular dysfunction in high-fat diet-fed rats and the role of (MDA, NLRP3, HMGB1) markers in obesity induced testicular dysfunction.
This is a prospective parallel group comparative experimental study. The study included 36 adult male Wistar albino rats of 3 weeks age weighing about 150-200 g recruited from animal house of physiology department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University.
The adult male rats were be divided into 3 groups:
• group A (fed on normal control diet [CD]; 12 adult male rats): these rats were preserved under normal condition of diet and water.
• group B (fed on high fat diet [HFD] only; 12 adult male rats).
• group C (fed on HFD with zinc supplementation; 12adult male rats).
At the end of the study, the rats were fasted overnight. Laparotomy was conducted. Testes and epididymis were carefully dissected and removed. The weights of the testes were measured to calculate the testicular coefficient.
The right epididymis of each rat was dissected, and the sperm count (%), sperm viability (%), and sperm motility were assessed. Histopathological examination was also performed to further assess the histological features of the testicular tissue changes in response to high fat diet and zinc supplementation. It included the evaluation of Johnson’s score and testicular morphology.
Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed and interpreted including primary antibody staining using MDA, NLRP3, and HMGB1 antibodies.
There was no statistically significant difference among the three groups in the initial weight (p=0.093). Concerning the final weight, there was statistically significant higher weight in group B compared to group A and C, and higher weight in group C compared to group A. Comparing the initial weight to the final weight in each groups showed significant elevation in group B and group C (p<0.001).
With regard to the testicular coefficient, group B showed the lowest coefficient, with a statistically significant difference between each two groups (p<0.001).
As for the sperm count, the lowest value was shown in group B. The count was significantly different between each two groups (p<0.05). Regarding vitality (%), total motility, and progressive motility, group A and group C showed statistically significant higher mean values than the group B (p <0.001), while no statistically significant difference was found between the groups A and C (p>0.05). On the other hand, non-progressive motility was comparable in the three groups (p>0.05).
The semen MDA levels was significantly higher in group B compared to group A and C, and higher in group C compared to group A.