UPREGULATION OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (INOS) MEDIATES SEVERE TESTICULAR DAMAGE INDUCED BY ENERGY DRINK IN RATS
Muhammad Atteya
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.
Background: Recently, the risk factors for infertility have increased substantially, particularly those resulting from environmental chemicals. Objective: This study was performed to investigate the implication of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) upregulation as a possible mechanism underlying testicular damage caused by prolonged Red Bull administration in albino rats. Material and Methods: Twenty-four adult male albino rats were divided into two groups, each of 12 animals. Rats of control group received distilled water daily for 3 months. Rats of Red Bull group received a daily dose of Red Bull for 3 months. At the end of the experiment, all animals were sacrificed under anesthesia. The animals were dissected and testes were removed and processed to prepare paraffin sections for histological and immunohistochemical studies. Results: Administration of Red Bull induced marked histopathological damage to the testis, decreased immunoexpression of α-SMA in myoid cells, and marked increase of iNOS immunoexpression in the cytoplasm of almost all interstitial cells and also cells of seminiferous tubules. Conclusion: The results give evidence that upregulation of iNOS mediates the marked testicular damage induced by Red Bull administration.
June 2016