The expression of Bax protein in the early stages of spinal cord injury in the sperm cells of rats

Abstract

Introduction: Apoptosis is one of the most important biological processes, which occurs through the activation of intracellular cell death pathway. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of cell death within the early stages of spinal cord injury (SCI) and the evaluation of the changes in Bax protein expression of progressive apoptosis. Material and methods: 48 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into two control and experimental groups. Animals were anesthetized and then the laminectomy procedure was performed in the area of T6–8. On days 1, 7, 14 and 28 after the surgery, one-third of the middle part of their testis tissue were taken for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Results: The immunohistochemical analysis indicated the presence of TUNEL-positive cells and cells containing the pro-apoptotic protein Bax in testicular sperms in the 1st day after SCI, as well as increased on 28 days. Discussion: 1 day after SCI, the apoptosis occurred in testicular sperm lines as well as the apoptosis can be related to Bax protein expression. Therefore inhibition of caspase activity via caspase cascades-mediated apoptosis may have a protective role in testicular injury during the acute phase of SCI. Conclusions: Our finding suggested that the damage and destruction after SCI can be controlled by therapeutic interventions at the appropriate time before the destructive changes of SCI.