**Author details**

*Animal Models in Medicine and Biology*

source of energy in spermatozoa.

**5. Conclusion**

**Acknowledgements**

and VEGA 1/0314/19.

**Conflict of interest**

None declared.

CASA Computer-assisted sperm analysis

ZDF Zucker diabetic fatty rats with high-caloric diet ZDN Zucker diabetic fatty rats with normal diet

DM1 Diabetes mellitus type 1 DM2 Diabetes mellitus type 2 GDM Gestational diabetes mellitus

MTT Mitochondrial toxicity test NBT Nitroblue tetrazolium ROS Reactive oxygen species

MDA Malondialdehyde

W Wistar rats

**Abbreviations**

production of MDA and regression of enzymatic activity. The activity of malondialdehyde and caspase-3 were significantly higher, whereas the enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly lower in the diabetic rats than in the control group of healthy rats. Supportive antioxidant treatment could help to increase the antioxidant enzymatic activity and to decrease the activity of malondialdehyde and caspase-3. This treatment also could reduce the apoptosis of germ cells. These facts support the theory about testicular oxidative damage caused

In our opinion the decrease of rat sperm vitality was associated with high levels of body fat because adipose tissue works as an individual endocrine system affecting spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis. On the other hand, diabetes mellitus type 2 affected correct mechanisms of spermatogenesis as carbohydrates are the main

The results of our analysis show that diabetes mellitus type 2 has a negative effect on the vitality of rat male reproductive cells. We may conclude that the disease affects sperm motility, viability, and DNA stability negatively. The disease increases the production of superoxide radicals and the concentration of malondialdehyde and also affects the mitochondrial activity of spermatozoa. However, diabetes mellitus type 2 has no effect on the acrosome integrity. At the same time, we observed visible differences in the experimental group of ZDF rats suffering from diabetes mellitus type 2 in combination with obesity in all evaluated parameters. However, differences were also observed in the experimental group of ZDN

This research was created with financial support of the projects APVV-15-0544

by diabetes and subsequent protective effects of antioxidant treatment.

rats who developed type 2 diabetes mellitus but did not have obesity.

**102**

Filip Benko1 , Mária Chomová<sup>2</sup> , Oľga Uličná3 and Eva Tvrdá1 \*

1 Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia

2 Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

3 Third Intern Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia

\*Address all correspondence to: evina.tvrda@gmail.com

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
