The Impact of Diabetes on Male Silkworm Reproductive Health

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of diabetic reproductive complications has prompted the development of innovative animal models. The use of the silkworm Bombyx mori as a model for diabetic reproductive damage shows potential as a valuable research tool. This study employed silkworms as a novel model to investigate diabetic reproductive damage. The silkworms were fed a high-glucose diet containing 10% glucose to induce a diabetic model. Subsequently, the study concentrated on assessing the influence of diabetes on the reproductive system of male silkworms. The results indicate that diabetes resulted in reduced luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) levels, as well as elevated triglyceride (TG) levels in male silkworms. Moreover, diabetes mellitus was associated with pathological testicular damage in male silkworms, accompanied by decreased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, along with increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the testis. Additionally, diabetes mellitus reduced the expression of siwi1 and siwi2 genes in the testis of male silkworms. Overall, these results support using silkworms as a valuable model for studying diabetic reproductive damage.