Protective effect of ischaemic post-conditioning on ipsilateral and contralateral testes after unilateral testicular ischaemia-reperfusion injury

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ischaemic post-conditioning (IPostC) against ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury on bilateral testes after unilateral testicular ischaemia in the rat. Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group; IR group (60min ischaemia-24h reperfusion); IPostC1×10 group (60min ischaemia followed by one cycle of 10sec reperfusion-10sec ischaemia; then 24h reperfusion); IPostC3×10 group (three cycles of 10sec reperfusion-10sec ischaemia; then 24h reperfusion); IPostC5×10 group (five cycles of 10sec reperfusion-10sec ischaemia; then 24h reperfusion) and IPostC3×30 group (three cycles of 30sec reperfusion-30sec ischaemia; then 24h reperfusion). In the IR and IPostC groups, the right testicular vessels were clamped using a special vascular clip. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels were measured in testicular tissue samples bilaterally. Additionally, bilateral testicular tissue samples were processed for histological evaluation including haematoxylin-eosin, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick End Labelling (TUNEL) staining. The levels of MDA and MPO as well as the positive cells per seminiferous tubule in TUNEL and 4-HNE stain in bilateral testes from the IR group were significantly higher compared with the control group. IPostC3×30 protocol significantly ameliorated the aforesaid parameters in both testes compared with the IR group. For the first time, we have demonstrated that IPostC protects both testes after unilateral testicular ischaemia-reperfusion. IPostC3×30 protocol offered the most effective protection. © 2010 The Authors. International Journal of Andrology © 2011 European Academy of Andrology.