Royal-jelly-based apitherapy can attenuate damages to male reproductive parameter following nicotine administration

Background:Nicotine administration can generate severe oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation.Royal jelly,with its antioxidant properties,acts as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species.This study describes the apitherapy effects of royal jelly on testicular damage following nicotine administration.Methods:Forty-eight male BALB/c mice were divided into 8 groups(n=6):saline,3 different doses of royal jelly(100,150,and 200 mg/kg body weight(BW)per day),nicotine(1.5 mg/kg),and 3 different groups of Nic+Roy(1.5 mg/kg of Nic+100,150,and 200 mg/kg BW per day of royal jelly).Nicotine was administrated intraperitoneally,and royal jelly was prescribed orally for 10 consecutive days.Serum levels of hormones(testosterone,luteinizing hormone,and follicle-stimulating hormone),total antioxidant capacity,nitric oxide(NO)status,malondialdehyde levels,sperm DNA fragmentation,sperm parameters,histopathological changes(H&E staining),immunohistochemistry against apoptotic proteins,and gene expression of Bcl-2,p53,Caspase-3,and Nrf2(real-time PCR)were assessed to evaluate the molecular and histological changes.Results:Hormone levels,sperm parameters,and status of antioxidants were decreased significantly(p<.05)following nicotine administration.Moreover,royal jelly treatment normalized hormonal and antioxidant characteristics,decreased apoptotic gene expression,increased Nfr2 gene expression,and restored histopathological alteration to the physiological status significantly(p<.05).Conclusion:Royal jelly upregulates the antioxidant status,inhibits the mitochondrialdependent apoptosis pathway,and increases the rate of proliferation.This therapeutic agent effectively protected the testis against nicotine-associated damages by antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects.

New rat to mouse xenograft transplantation of endometrium as a model of human endometriosis

Background:Endometriosis can lead to infertility.Since there is no definitive treat-ment for endometriosis,animal modelling seems necessary to examine the possible treatments.Mouse endometrium cannot be separated for endometriosis induc-tion.In addition,transplantation of uterus into the abdominal viscera to induce endometriosis causes organ damage.In this study,we defined a new model of en-dometriosis leading to separability of endometrium and a safe anatomical region for transplantation.Methods:Forty female mice were allocated to 5 groups:1,sham;2,allograft uterus transplantation of mice to anterior abdominal wall of mice;3,allograft uterus trans-plantation of mice to mesentery of mice;4,xenograft endometrial transplantation of rat to anterior abdominal wall of mice;5,xenograft endometrial transplantation of rat to mesentery of mice.Adult female rats with a previous pregnancy experience were selected and placed in the vicinity of male rats for 2 weeks to induce estrogen secre-tion and increase endometrial thickness.Results:In the 4th group of animals,compared to sham,the peritoneal concentrations of VEGF-A,TNF-α,NO,MDA,and serum levels of CA-125 and IL-37 were increased and total body weight was decreased,while weight and size of endometrial lesions were increased significantly(P<.05).Genes expression of HOXA10 and HOXA11 were decreased significantly(P<.05)in groups 2 and 4 compared to sham.Conclusions:Xenograft transplantation of endometrium from rat to anterior abdomi-nal wall of mice can potentially mimic human endometriosis morphologically,histo-logically,and genetically.

The antioxidant effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Ashrasi date palm on sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation in diabetic rats

Background : Diabetes-induced oxidative stress can have adverse effects on sperm and its DNA integrity. The Ashrasi date palm(ADP) has potent antioxidant properties.The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant effect of ADP hydroalcoholic extract on sperm parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation in diabetic rats.Methods : Forty male rats were randomly divided into five groups( n = 7): 1, control;2, diabetic;3– 5, diabetic + ADP(30, 90 and 270 mg/kg for groups 3, 4 and 5, respectively). After preparation of ADP extract and its phytochemical screening, it was administered orally to rats, once a day for 5 weeks. At the end of the study, sperm parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation in all groups were investigated.Results : At doses of 90 and 270 mg/kg, ADP extract significantly increased the sperm viability compared to diabetic group 2( p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively)and resulted in a significant decrease in immotile sperm( p = 0.002 and p = 0.006,respectively). At a dose of 270 mg/kg, a considerable enhancement of forward sperm motility was observed( p = 0.04) and there was a significant decrease in sperm DNA fragmentation( p = 0.04).Conclusions : The findings of the present study show for the first time that the hydroalcoholic extract of ADP has protective and antioxidant effects against diabetesinduced oxidative stress and can improve sperm parameters and protect sperm DNA integrity.