Abstract
Testicular torsion is a urologic emergency induced by torsion of the spermatic cord, interrupting blood circulation to the testis. Therapeutic options for testicular torsion, except surgical restoration of testis, are rarely applied in clinical practice. This study, therefore, investigated whether topical application of nitrite (NO2−) is beneficial in tissue damage due to testicular ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats. Pubertal Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to seven groups: group A, sham-operated control group; group B, I/R with no treatment; groups C, D, and E, I/R followed by treatment with three different doses of nitrite; group F, I/R followed by administration of nitrite and a NO scavenger, C-PTIO (2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium salt); and group G, I/R followed by administration of nitrate (NO3−). Unilateral testicular ischemia was maintained for 5 h, followed by reperfusion for 24 h. Nitrite and nitrate were topically administered before reperfusion. Compared to group A, germ cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, antioxidant enzymatic function, and lipid peroxidation were significantly increased, along with abnormal morphology and impaired spermatogenesis in group B (P < 0.05). In contrast, testicular damage was generally attenuated in the nitrite treatment groups due to a reduction in superoxide and peroxynitrite levels and the inhibition of caspase-3-dependent apoptosis (P < 0.05 vs. group B). These therapeutic effects of nitrite-derived NO were suppressed after injection of C-PTIO, which showed in group F. Taken together, our results demonstrate that topical application of nitrite may be one of the therapeutic strategies for testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Highlights
Testicular torsion is a urologic emergency that is primarily induced by torsion of the spermatic cord in infants and children [1]
The synthesis of Nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine is catalyzed by three nitric oxide synthase isoforms via an oxygen-consuming pathway, which might be prohibited under conditions of low oxygen tension [17]
We demonstrated that hypoxia-dependent NO production from nitrite confers cytoprotection in testicular I/R injury and that the NO scavenger, C-PTIO, suppressed the protective effect of nitritederived NO in ischemic testis in vivo
Summary
Testicular torsion is a urologic emergency that is primarily induced by torsion of the spermatic cord in infants and children [1]. Nitric oxide (NO) is a vital regulator with (patho)physiologically multifunctional effects, such as modulating vascular activity, cell metabolism, and homeostasis. NO is formed from L-arginine by nitric oxide synthases, endothelial NOS (eNOS), neuronal NOS (nNOS), and inducible NOS (iNOS) [5]. Some investigations have reported that the application of nitrite has ameliorative effects on heart, liver, and brain I/R injury [5, 7, 13], while NO has deleterious effects due to peroxynitrite production by the complex formed between high levels of NO and superoxide radicals during the reperfusion period, which leads to apoptosis and oxidant stress [14]. It is necessary to Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity
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