Introduction and Aim: The process of spermatogenesis requires a continuous supply of nutrients for producing normal sperms. Methionine and choline are considered important amino acids in transport of energy substrates, redox balance, and in DNA methylation while the protein adiponectin is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic function. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of methionine and choline on mice testis when fed with a methionine choline deficient diet (MCDD) as well as the protective effect of adiponectin on mice testis.   Materials and Methods: This study comprised of  25 mice, which were divided into three groups: Control (n=5); M1 (n=10 that were fed with MCDD for three weeks) and M2 (n=10 that were fed with MCDD for three weeks and in the third week were administered with daily injections of adiponectin for one week).   Results: The present study revealed MCDD caused a significant reduction in body weight and increase in the incidence of apoptosis where P value was 0.001; caspase-3 expression was higher than that of Bcl2 in group M1. Adiponectin therapy in the last week showed the potential to restore body weight, reduce apoptotic rate, and the expression of Bcl2 which was higher than that of caspase-3.   Conclusion: A diet lacking in methionine and choline not only significantly reduced body weight in mice, but also increased the apoptosis rate of spermatogenic cells. Adiponectin therapy in MCDD fed mice reduced the apoptotic rate and restored spermatogenesis.

Introduction and Aim: Beta-thalassemia patients develop chronic infections due to the hepatitis G virus (HGV), due to frequent blood transfusions. This study aimed to isolate these viruses from beta-thalassemia Iraqi patients and investigate into the 5'UTR genomic region of the virus to investigate the prevalent genotypes in this region.   Materials and Methods: The study included 154 beta-thalassemia patients. Blood samples were collected from each individual participating in this study. Genomic RNA was isolated and subjected to cDNA synthesis. The 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of the DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using specific HGV primers and sent for sequencing. The sequences were genotyped using bioinformatics tools.     Results: The results showed hepatitis G virus infection to be prevalent in 18.2% of the beta-thalassemia patients. Sequencing and alignment of the HGV 5'UTR sequences showed several nucleotide variations. A phylogenetic analysis revealed the following HGV genotypes to infect beta-thalassemia patients genotype 4(58.3%), genotype 2b (33.3%) and genotype 1b (8.3%).   Conclusion: Genotyping of the 5'UTR region of the HGV gene showed the genotypes 1b, 2b and 4 to be prevalent among beta-thalassemia patients in Iraq.

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Introduction and Aim: The increase in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome in recent decades has been correlated with high consumption of high-fructose and high-fat diets and has been associated with increased rates of male infertility. The aim of this study was to investigate how high fructose diet exerts its effect upon testicular morphology in addition to examine the potential effects of adiponectin treatment in restoring the architecture of seminiferous tubules through the expression of immunohistochemical markers BAX and caspase-3. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five adult albino mice were divided into three groups: In Group 1, mice fed with diet contained high concentration of fructose followed by adiponectin injection, Group 2, the mice fed with high concentration of fructose diet and received a saline placebo injection, and Group 3 (control) was nourished a regular food for 8 weeks. The parameters studied included changes in animal body weight, testicular spermatogenesis index, spermatogonia count, apoptotic index, exfoliative epithelium percentage and immunohistochemical scores for testicular BAX and caspase-3 expression. Results: Animals on high fructose diet showed increase in body weight which was markedly reduced by adiponectin treatment. High fructose diet also resulted in reduced spermatogenesis index and spermatogonia count with increased apoptotic and epithelial exfoliation indices. High fructose diet was also associated with high-fructose induced obesity and significantly associated with increased BAX and caspase-3 expression alleviated by adiponectin treatment. Conclusion: High-fructose intake induces obesity and obesity-related reduction in male fertility by reducing spermatogenesis and enhancing testicular cell apoptosis via different pathophysiological mechanisms. Such effects and mechanism can be reversed and corrected with adiponectin treatment.