Background: Female infertility is a health issue for both humans and
animals and despite developments in medical interventions, there are still some
conditions that cannot be treated successfully. It is important to explore other
potential therapies or remedies that could improve reproductive health. Choline
is an over-the-counter supplement and essential nutrient that has many health
benefits. It has been suggested to be
beneficial in various aspects of fertility, including fetal development and
endocrine disorders like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, choline’s
impact on ovarian function has not been explored. Methods: To study the
effects of choline on ovarian development, 36 female Yorkshire
Landrace pigs were fed the following four supplemented diets between 90 and 186
days of age: (1) Control (corn and soybean
meal-based diet that met estimated nutrient requirements, n = 9); (2) Choline
(additional 500 mg choline per 1 kg of control diet, n = 8); (3) Omega-3
(additional 5556 mg Omega-3 per 1 kg control diet by introducing fish oil); (4)
Choline + Omega-3 (500 mg choline + 5556 mg Omega-3 per 1 kg control diet). Pigs
fed the choline-supplemented diet were compared to the control group and those
fed diets supplemented with Omega-3 as fertility-promoting agent.
Results: It was found that the number of corpus luteum per ovary in the
Choline (16.25 2.88), Omega-3 (10.78
1.71) and Choline + Omega-3 (14.89 2.97) groups were all higher
in comparison to that of the control group (5.56 1.72, p
0.05). The percentage of antral follicles in the Choline + Omega-3 group were
higher compared to the control group (p 0.05). To elucidate the
potential molecular mechanism of choline on these improved ovarian phenotypes,
the expression of a group of genes that are involved in ovarian development,
including cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1 (CYP11A1),
follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FHSR) and luteinizing hormone
receptor (LHR), was analyzed using RT-qPCR. The expression of both
LHR and CYP11A1 was significantly upregulated in the
choline-supplemented group (p 0.05), while there are no differences
in FSHR expression among all the groups. Additionally, the expression of
miR-21, -378, -574, previously found to be important in ovarian function, were
examined. Our data showed that miR-574 was
upregulated in the Choline group while
miR-378 was upregulated in the Choline + Omega-3 group in comparison to the
control group (p 0.05). Further, serum metabolite analysis showed
that 1-(5Z, 8Z, 11Z, 14Z, 17Z-eicosapentaenoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, a
form of phosphatidylcholine metabolite, was significantly increased in all the
treatment groups (p 0.05), while testosterone was significantly
increased in both Omega-3 and Choline + Omega-3 groups (p 0.05) and
tended to be reduced in the choline-supplemented group (p = 0.08)
compared to the control group. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated
choline’s influence on ovarian function in vivo, and offered insights
into the mechanisms behind its positive effect on ovarian development phenotype.