Berberine reinforces Sertoli cells niche and accelerates spermatogonial stem cells renewal in experimentally-induced varicocele condition in rats

Rashtbari, Hamid; Razi, Mazdak; Hassani-Bafrani, Hassan; Najaran, Hamed

doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2017.12.036

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Moreover, hematology and clinical chemistry parameters showed no effects among all groups (Table S1). Several studies have demonstrated decreased testicular weights in male rats with VC-induced infertility [27,28]. Pretreatment with SC significantly increased testicular weight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Schisandra chinensis Baillon on Cross-Talk between Oxidative Stress, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, and Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway in Testes of Varicocele-Induced SD Rat

Karna

Choi

Kim

et al. 2019

IJMS

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Schisandra chinensis Baillon (SC) has been utilized for its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory activities in a broad variety of medical applications. However; SC uses for improving fertility in males and related disorders with proper scientific validation remain obscure. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of SC on varicocele (VC)-induced testicular dysfunction and the potential molecular mechanism associated with VC-induced germ cell apoptosis. The male Sprague–Dawley rats were equally divided into four groups consisting of 10 rats in a normal control group (CTR), a control group administered SC 200 mg/kg (SC 200), a varicocele-induced control group (VC), and a varicocele-induced group administered SC 200 mg/kg (VC + SC 200). Rats were administrated 200 mg/kg SC once daily for 28 days after induction of varicocele rats and sham controls. At the end of the treatment period, body and reproductive organ weight, sperm parameters, histopathological damages, proinflammatory cytokines, apoptosis markers, biomarkers of oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) were evaluated. The effects of SC extract on human sperm motility were also analyzed. SC treatment reduces VC-induced testicular dysfunction by significantly increasing testicular weight, sperm count and sperm motility, serum testosterone level, Johnsen score, spermatogenic cell density, testicular superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase level, and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) level. Furthermore, the effects of SC on malondialdehyde (MDA) level, reactive oxygen species (ROS)/reactive nitrogen species (RNS) level, apoptotic index, serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, Glucose-regulated protein-78 (Grp 78), phosphorylated c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (p-JNK), phosphorylated inositol-requiring transmembrane kinase/endoribonuclease 1α (p-IRE1α), cleaved caspase 3, and Bax:Bcl2 in VC-induced rats were significantly decreased. Treatment with SC extracts also increased sperm motility in human sperm. Our findings suggest that the SC ameliorate testicular dysfunction in VC-induced rats via crosstalk between oxidative stress, ER stress, and mitochondrial-mediated testicular germ cell apoptosis signaling pathways. SC promotes spermatogenesis by upregulating abnormal sex hormones and decreasing proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6; TNF-α).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Schisandra chinensis Baillon on Cross-Talk between Oxidative Stress, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, and Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway in Testes of Varicocele-Induced SD Rat

Karna

Choi

Kim

et al. 2019

IJMS

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“…In the initial step, we assessed the histological changes in testicular tissue, as well as sperm levels to prove the VCL condition. Among different proven phenotypes of VCL, whether in human patients and animal models, severe tubular atrophy, oedema of connective tissue, negative TDI and SPI, spermatogenesis arrest, intensive immune cell infiltration into connective tissue (Rashtbari et al, ; Saleh, Mahfouz, Agarwal, & Farouk, ) and reduced sperm count and viability (Pasqualotto et al, ) were assessed. All these changes were observed both in 2‐ and in 4‐month VCL‐induced groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the standard passage procedure, the tissue samples were embedded in paraffin and cut (4‐5 µm) by a rotary microtome (Historange, 2218). The tissue slides were stained (H&E), and some main phenotypes of VCL, including severe oedema and immune cells infiltration in connective tissue, vasodilation, atrophied seminiferous tubules, arrested spermatogenesis, germ cells dissociation, negative tubular differentiation (TDI, seminiferous tubules with 1–2 layers of germ cells) and spermiogenesis indices (SPI, seminiferous tubules with no active spermiogenesis), were investigated (Gholirad et al, ; Rashtbari et al, ). Because of no change in histological markers of 2‐ and 4‐month control groups, the histological findings of VCL‐induced groups (both 2 and 4 months) were compared with 4‐month control group.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the VCL is known as a vascular disorder in the veins of the pampiniform plexus (Pauroso et al, ). Despite various researches relevant to VCL‐induced infertility in animal model studies (Amin, Razi, Sarrafzadeh‐Rezaei, Shalizar Jalali, & Najafi, ; Gholirad, Razi, & Hassani Bafrani, ; Rashtbari, Razi, Hassani‐Bafrani, & Najaran, ), and those from VCL individuals (Basar, Kisa, Tuglu, Kacmaz, & Basar, ; Poon et al, ; Spinelli, Di Giacomo, Piccolo, Martin, & Messineo, ), the complete pathogenesis of VCL is not known. However, palpable lesions (Wang, Zhang, Lin, Zhang, & Zhang, ), impaired testicular blood circulation (Tarhan, Gümüs, Gündüz, Ayyildiz, & Göktan, ), heat‐dependent apoptosis (Shiraishi, Takihara, & Matsuyama, ), suppressed endocrine potential (Alkaram & McCullough, ; Mazhari, Razi, & Sadrkhanlou, ), autophagy (Foroozan‐Broojeni et al, ), abnormal semen parameters (Dieamant et al, ), high levels of inflammatory mediators (Ghandehari‐Alavijeh et al, ; Koçak, Yenisey, Dündar, Okyay, & Serter, ) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in semen (Yoon, Park, & Park, ) have been reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zeta and hyaluronic acid assessments, novel sperm selection procedures, in animal model for male infertility

Rezaei‐Agdam¹,

Moshari

Nahari³

et al. 2019

Andrologia

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Considering varicocele (VCL)‐induced severe, progressive DNA damage, histone–protamine anomalies and low sperm production, in the current study, the experimental VCL was induced and the efficiency of hyaluronic acid (HA)‐binding method (HABM) and zeta preparation procedure (ZPP) in selection of appropriate spermatozoa was compared with those spermatozoa from intact animals. Following 2 and 4 months, the histological alterations in testicular tissue, sperm count and viability were assessed to prove the VCL condition. The spermatozoa were undergone simple wash, HABM and ZPP. The chromatin condensation, active caspase‐3 expression, DNA fragmentation and apoptosis index were analysed after applying selection techniques and compared with the spermatozoa from intact and VCL‐induced animals, which were undergone a simple wash. Observations showed that both HABM and ZPP effectively prepared the spermatozoa with higher chromatin condensation and lower DNA damage. Meanwhile, the ZPP exerted a more preferable effect by preparing the spermatozoa with higher chromatin condensation, and lower caspase‐3 expression, and DNA disintegrity versus the HABM, especially after 4 months. In conclusion, ZPP seems to exert much more reliable efficiency in selecting appropriate spermatozoa for ICSI processes, while more studies are needed to find out which one is more useful in the clinical assisted reproductive technique (ART) process.

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“…Furthermore, BBR exhibited neuroprotective and hepatorenal protective activities (Abdel Moneim, 2015). Notably, BBR was found to protect the testicular tissue, improve sperm quality, and enhance spermatogenesis in different animal models (Hassani‐Bafrani et al, 2019; Rashtbari, Razi, Hassani‐Bafrani, & Najaran, 2018). Considering the antioxidant activity of BBR, we hypothesized that BBR is able to mitigate mercuric chloride (HgCl 2 ) toxicity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Berberine mitigates oxidative damage associated with testicular impairment following mercury chloride intoxication

2020

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In this study, we assessed the protective effect of berberine (BBR) against mercuric chloride (HgCl2)‐induced reproductive impairment. Twenty‐eight adult male Wistar albino rats were placed into four equal groups: control, BBR, HgCl2, and BBR + HgCl2. All the treatments were orally administered for seven consecutive days. The rats exposed to HgCl2 showed a marked decrease in testosterone accompanied by an increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO). Additionally, HgCl2 decreased glutathione (GSH) content, deactivated catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase (GR), and suppressed the activities and mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the testicular tissue. In addition, histological deformations and testicular cell loss were recorded, as evidenced by the upregulation of caspase‐3 following HgCl2 intoxication. Notably, BBR administration reversed the testicular impairments associated with HgCl2 exposure. These findings suggest that BBR protected the testicular tissue following HgCl2 exposure through inhibiting the disturbance in the testosterone level and enhanced the antioxidant capacity. Practical applications Heavy metals are naturally existing metallic elements in the earth’s crust. These trace metals have the potential to cause multiple adverse reactions to the living systems, even at low exposure doses. Human exposure may also result from industrial, agricultural, and domestic activities. Berberine (BBR, a naturally occurring quaternary benzylisoquinoline alkaloid) is a protoberberine and is the representative main active ingredient in all parts of Berberis species. BBR has been used widely in folk medicine worldwide for its multiple pharmacological and therapeutic activities; for example, in the treatment of digestive and reproductive system disorders, microorganism infections, hemorrhage and wound healing, and cardiovascular and ophthalmic diseases. We found that BBR administration was able to abrogate significantly the reproductive toxicity associated with Hg intoxication. This protective effect comes from its strong antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, and antiapoptotic activities; suggesting that BBR may be applied to alleviate reproductive toxicity associated with Hg intoxication.

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Berberine reinforces Sertoli cells niche and accelerates spermatogonial stem cells renewal in experimentally-induced varicocele condition in rats

Cited by 18 publications

References 32 publications

The Effect of Schisandra chinensis Baillon on Cross-Talk between Oxidative Stress, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, and Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway in Testes of Varicocele-Induced SD Rat

The Effect of Schisandra chinensis Baillon on Cross-Talk between Oxidative Stress, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, and Mitochondrial Signaling Pathway in Testes of Varicocele-Induced SD Rat

Zeta and hyaluronic acid assessments, novel sperm selection procedures, in animal model for male infertility

Berberine mitigates oxidative damage associated with testicular impairment following mercury chloride intoxication

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