Research indicates that some adult diseases including reproductive pathologies are programmed in utero during foetal development. In particular, maternal low dietary protein, during the most critical developmental periods of male foetal development, may have a detrimental impact on male fertility through direct and epigenetic mechanisms. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of a gestational low protein diet on fertility markers in male offspring in rats through a systematic review and meta‐analysis. A systematic search using PubMed, and EMBASE databases was performed and two investigators independently screened the 1,703 prospective articles. Eleven articles met the eligibility criteria. Outcome measures were pooled using random‐effects models and expressed as mean differences (MDs) at 95% CIs for each study. The results reveal significant reduction in testis weight (MD (mean difference) −0.08 g; −0.12, −0.42; p = .0001), epididymal sperm count (MD −35.34 × 10⁶ cells; −52.15, −18.53; p = .0001), number of Sertoli cells (MD −7.27 × 10⁶ (−13.92, −0.62; p = .03), testosterone (T) concentration (MD −0.29 ng/ml; −0.48, −0.09; p = .004) and luteinising hormone (LH) concentration (MD of −0.24 ng/ml; −0.45, 0.04; p = .02) in comparison with controls. In contrast, follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration (MD of 0.07 ng/ml; −0.16, 0.29; p = .56) was not significantly different from controls. We conclude that low gestational dietary protein maternal intake potentially negatively impacts fertility in male progeny later in life. The mechanisms of action responsible for these phenomena remain unclear.

中文翻译：

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妊娠期低蛋白母体饮食对大鼠雄性生育力指标有负面影响——系统评价和荟萃分析。

研究表明，包括生殖病理学在内的一些成人疾病是在胎儿发育过程中在子宫内编程的。特别是，在男性胎儿发育最关键的发育时期，母体低膳食蛋白质可能通过直接和表观遗传机制对男性生育能力产生不利影响。我们研究的目的是通过系统评价和荟萃分析评估妊娠期低蛋白饮食对大鼠雄性后代生育力指标的影响。使用 PubMed 和 EMBASE 数据库进行了系统搜索，两名研究人员独立筛选了 1,703 篇前瞻性文章。11 篇文章符合资格标准。结果测量使用随机效应模型进行汇总，并表示为每项研究在 95% CI 处的平均差 (MDs)。p  = .0001)，附睾精子数（MD -35.34 × 10 ^{6 个}细胞；-52.15，-18.53；p  = .0001），支持细胞数（MD -7.27 × 10 ⁶ (-13.92，-0.62；p  = .03)、睾酮 (T) 浓度 (MD -0.29 ng/ml; -0.48, -0.09; p  = .004) 和促黄体生成素 (LH) 浓度 (MD 为 -0.24 ng/ml; -0.45, 0.04; p  = .02) 与对照组相比。相比之下，促卵泡激素 (FSH) 浓度 (MD 为 0.07 ng/ml；-0.16, 0.29；p = .56) 与对照组没有显着差异。我们得出结论，低妊娠膳食蛋白质母体摄入量可能会对生命后期雄性后代的生育能力产生负面影响。造成这些现象的作用机制仍不清楚。