en |
Amelioration of testicular damages in renal ischemia/reperfusion by berberine: An experimental study
Gholampour, Firouzeh; Mansourkhani, Shabnam Malekpour & Owji, Seyed Mohammad
Abstract
Background: Ischemic acute kidney injury is associated with an inflammatory reaction.
Objective: In the current study, berberine was assessed for its effect on the functional
disorders and histological damages of testis induced by renal ischemia/reperfusion
(I/R).
Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight adult male Wistar rats (260-300 gr) were equally
divided into four groups (n = 7/each): sham and I/R groups which received distilled
water as well as berberine (BBR) and BBR + I/R groups which received berberine (15
mg/kg/day) orally seven days before the surgery. In both groups of sham and BBR,
renal arteries were not clamped. Renal I/R was induced by occluding right and left renal
artery for 45 min followed by a 24 hr reperfusion period. Blood samples were taken
for determining the plasma levels of creatinine, urea nitrogen, FSH (follicle stimulating
hormone), LH (luteinizing hormone), and testosterone. Then the rats were killed under
deep anesthesia and the left testis was immediately isolated and preserved.
Results: The renal I/R injury led to testicular histological damages accompanied with
increased plasma levels of creatinine, urea nitrogen, LH, and FSH, as well decrease
of plasma testosterone concentration at the end of 24 hr reperfusion (All p < 0.001,
except for FSH p < 0.01). Berberine diminished histological damage to the testis and
attenuated the increase in plasma creatinine, urea nitrogen, LH, FSH, and decrease in
plasma testosterone concentration in the BBR + I/R group (All p < 0.001).
Conclusion: These results suggest that ischemic acute renal failure induces functional
disorders and tissue damages in testis of rat, which was improved through the
administration of berberine.
Keywords
Ischemia/reperfusion; Acute kidney injury; Berberine; Testis; LH; FSH.
|