Early Life Nutrition, Developmental Plasticity, and Reproductive Ecology in Filipino Males

菲律宾男性的早期营养、发育可塑性和生殖生态

• 批准号: 0542182
• 负责人: Christopher Kuzawa
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-15 至 2009-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0542182&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Early; Life; Nutrition; Developmental; Plasticity

With NSF support, Dr. Chris Kuzawa and an international team based out of Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of San Carlos, Cebu City (the Philippines), will investigate whether fetal and infant nutrition and growth influence male reproductive biology, as measured in roughly 1,000 young adults participating in a long-term study of health in the Philippines. Specifically, they will test the hypothesis that undernutrition prior to birth (as indicated by birth weight or maternal pregnancy nutrition) or during the months after birth (as indicated by mode of infant feeding or growth rate) will predict reduced testicular function, including lower production of testosterone and other hormones that are correlated with male fecundity. In addition, this project will also investigate the broader health effects of any changes in testosterone, such as reductions in muscle, strength or changes in blood pressure. The rationale for this series of questions comes from recent research showing similar long-term effects of early life undernutrition on these traits in rats and sheep. To date, no large scale test of these relationships have been conducted in humans.This study is uniquely equipped to explore these relationships, because all of the participants were first enrolled in the study when their mothers were pregnant with them (in 1983). Birth size, growth rate, nutrition and other important characteristics were monitored periodically as each person aged, providing a rich record of their life experiences. These individuals are now 22 years of age, allowing this study to evaluate if nutrition and growth measured early in life predict reproductive function and health measured several decades later in adulthood.To answer this study's specific hypotheses, these data will be augmented by adult information on lifestyle and diet measured in interviews, and biological specimens (blood and saliva) for the measurement of reproductive hormones. All of these supplemental data and specimens were recently collected using a protocol designed to address this study's research goals, and the specimens are now in freezer storage at Northwestern University. NSF funding will only be required to cover the costs of analyzing hormones in these samples, which will be measured in the Laboratory for Human Biology Research housed in the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University.This study promises significant insights into an issue of considerable theoretical and applied importance. As is true for females, cross-cultural research has documented a great deal of population variation in male reproductive function. However, unlike in females, this biological variability has been difficult to explain in males. This study will address this paradox by investigating whether differences in early life nutrition and growth influence male reproduction function. The answer to this question may also provide insights into an important mode of human adaptation: reducing expenditure on "costly" traits, such as reproduction and muscle mass, might be a necessary (if less than ideal) response when faced with a challenging nutritional environment.The broader impacts of this study include training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students interested in gaining experience with laboratory research. It will also strengthen the collaborative ties between an international team of researchers based in the US and the Philippines, who share interests in understanding the causes and consequences of male fertility.

在NSF的支持下，Chris Kuzawa博士和一个来自西北大学、北卡罗来纳州大学查佩尔山分校和卡洛斯大学宿务市（菲律宾）的国际团队将调查胎儿和婴儿的营养和生长是否会影响男性生殖生物学，这是在菲律宾参加一项长期健康研究的大约1,000名年轻人中进行的。 具体来说，他们将检验以下假设：出生前（如出生体重或母体妊娠营养所示）或出生后几个月内（如婴儿喂养方式或生长速度所示）的营养不良将预测睾丸功能降低，包括睾丸激素和其他与男性生殖力相关的激素的产量降低。 此外，该项目还将调查睾酮的任何变化对健康的更广泛影响，例如肌肉，力量或血压变化的减少。 这一系列问题的基本原理来自于最近的研究，这些研究表明，早期营养不良对大鼠和绵羊的这些特征有类似的长期影响。 到目前为止，还没有在人类中进行过这些关系的大规模测试。这项研究是探索这些关系的唯一装备，因为所有参与者都是在他们的母亲怀孕时（1983年）首次参加这项研究的。 随着每个人年龄的增长，对出生大小、生长速度、营养和其他重要特征进行定期监测，提供了他们生活经历的丰富记录。 这些人现在都是22岁，使这项研究能够评估，如果营养和生长在生命早期测量预测生殖功能和健康测量几十年后，在成年后，为了回答这项研究的具体假设，这些数据将通过生活方式和饮食测量在采访中的成人信息，以及生物标本（血液和唾液）的测量生殖激素的补充。 所有这些补充数据和标本都是最近使用旨在解决本研究研究目标的协议收集的，这些标本现在存放在西北大学的冷冻库中。 美国国家科学基金会的资金将只需要支付分析这些样本中的激素的费用，这些样本将在西北大学人类学系的人类生物学研究实验室进行测量。这项研究有望对一个具有相当理论和应用重要性的问题提供重要的见解。 与女性一样，跨文化研究已经记录了男性生殖功能的大量人群差异。 然而，与女性不同的是，这种生物变异性在男性中很难解释。 本研究将通过调查早期营养和生长的差异是否影响男性生殖功能来解决这一悖论。 这个问题的答案也可能为人类适应的一个重要模式提供见解：当面临具有挑战性的营养环境时，减少在生殖和肌肉质量等“昂贵”特征上的支出可能是必要的（如果不是理想的）反应。 它还将加强总部设在美国和菲律宾的国际研究人员团队之间的合作关系，他们在了解男性生育的原因和后果方面有着共同的利益。