scholarly journals Effects of Chronic Exposure to Sodium Arsenite on Expressions of VEGF and VEGFR2 Proteins in the Epididymis of Rats

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dai Yan-Ping ◽  
Gao Xiao-Qin ◽  
Ma Xiao Ping ◽  
Yue Ying Quan

Objective. To study the expressions of VEGF and VEGFR2 at protein level in the epididymis of rats with arsenism. Methods. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: the high dose arsenic infected group (60.0 mg/L in water), the middle dose arsenic infected group (12.0 mg/L in water), the low dose arsenic infected group (2.4 mg/L in water), and the control group (distilled water). Rats were treated with arsenic through drinking water for 6 consecutive months. At the end of the experiment, the average densitometry values of apoptotic cells in epididymis tubules were determined by TUNEL method; the protein and mRNA levels of VEGF and VEGFR2 were observed by immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and real time fluorescent quantitative PCR, respectively. Results. Compared with the control group, in each infected group, the average densitometry values of apoptotic cells in the epididymis tubules were significantly lower. Compared with control group, protein and mRNA levels of VEGF and VEGFR2 in each infected group were obviously declined. The correlations between protein and mRNA levels of VEGF and VEGFR2 were positively exhibited (r = 0.843, 0.869, p < 0.05). Conclusions. Arsenism affects the expressions of VEGF and VEGFR2 in the epididymis of rats and results in apoptosis of pathophysiology of male infertility.

Author(s):  
O. H. Ayoade ◽  
G. G. Akunna ◽  
F. I. Duru

This study evaluated camphora-induced androgenic and histopathological changes in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Thirty-five animals weighing 200 g±20 g were used for this study and randomly divided equally into five groups, with seven rats in each group. Group A animals (normal control group) were served water and rat chow only; Groups B-D (treatment groups) were orally administered camphora in doses of 1 g/kg (Low-dose), 2 g/kg (Medium-dose) and 4 g/kg (High-dose) respectively while Group E (vehicle group) were orally administered 6 mL/kg olive oil (a solvent for camphora) per day for 56 days. There was a significant decrease (P< .05) in activity levels of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH); Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) when the treatment was compared with the control group. Also, a significant decrease (P< .05) in activity level of FSH was observed when the Medium-dose group was compared with Low-dose group. Insignificant irregular pattern in activity level of Testosterone was observed across the treatment groups when compared with the control. However, a significant increase (P< .05) in activity level of Testosterone was observed when the High-dose group was compared with the Medium-dose group. There was a significant increase (P< .05) in activity levels of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) when the treatment was compared with the control group. Semen analysis showed reduction in sperm concentration, motility and morphology with increasing concentration of camphora. Significant decrease was recorded in testicular weight when High-dose group was compared to Control and Low-dose groups. Histopathological changes were seen in the testes of the camphor administered groups, ranging from mild disintegrated interstitial tissues in Low-dose to severe degeneration and disintegration of both seminiferous and interstitial tissues in the testes in the Medium-dose and High-dose groups. In conclusion, camphora had androgenic and toxic effects on testis and may cause testicular tissue damage.


Background: Hepatocellular damage caused by physical activity or the use of supplements is one of the serious problems facing athletes in various fields. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different doses of nitric oxide supplements on AST and ALT liver enzymes and the ratio of AST to ALT following a session of eccentric exercise in Sprague Dawley male rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 36 Sprague Dawley male rats (two months old) were divided into three groups of control, low dose (4.8 mg/kg body weight), and high dose of NO supplements (15.4 mg/kg body weight). Supplements were given to rats for seven days. Subsequently, all three groups of rats were forced to run on a treadmill for 45 min with a speed of 20 m/min, and a slope of -15 degrees. Blood samples were taken directly from cardiac puncture of rats 24 h after the running exercise. Blood serum variables of the study were measured afterward. Results: Low dose of nitrate supplements did not change AST and ALT indices, while the high dose of nitrate supplements increased ALT serum level and decreased AST to ALT ratio, compared to a low dose of NO supplements and control group. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, the consumption of a low dose of NO supplements does not change hepatocellular damage markers, while the high dose of NO supplements causes degeneration of hepatic cells in athletes.


1986 ◽  
Vol 251 (5) ◽  
pp. E563-E568
Author(s):  
S. Amr ◽  
S. S. Lippman ◽  
B. D. Weintraub

We investigated the function of thyrotrophs in rat pituitaries that were transplanted under the renal capsule of 3-wk-old male Sprague-Dawley rats, which were either intact or hypophysectomized. Groups of 12 animals were implanted with osmotic minipumps that delivered a constant infusion of either thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH; 1 mg X kg-1 X day-1) or normal saline for 1 wk. In hypophysectomized rats, TRH infusion led to the appearance of substantial amounts of biologically active serum TSH and prevented the hypothyroidism that occurred in the control group. However, TRH did not change the transplant contents of DNA, immunoactive TSH, and mRNA levels for TSH subunits. Comparison of sellar and renal pituitary tissues, obtained from intact rats after 1 wk of either saline or TRH infusion, showed that removal of the pituitary from hypothalamic influence resulted in a 90% depletion of the thyrotroph TSH content. TRH infusion depleted only 63% of the TSH content of sellar thyrotrophs. The mRNA levels for TSH beta-subunit were similar in sellar and transplanted pituitaries and did not significantly change after TRH infusion. When immunocytochemically stained using rat TSH antiserum, the thyrotrophs in pituitary transplants were morphologically and numerically indistinguishable from the thyrotrophs in sellar pituitaries, in the presence or absence of TRH. These data indicate that in transplanted pituitary, for up to 1 wk of a constant infusion, TRH does not significantly affect either the number of thyrotrophs or their ability to synthesize TSH subunit mRNA. However, it is required to maintain released TSH in circulation, since TSH levels were low in the absence of TRH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Hyun Lee ◽  
Mary Gulumian ◽  
Elaine M. Faustman ◽  
Tomomi Workman ◽  
KiSoo Jeon ◽  
...  

Background. To investigate the effect of subacute intravenous administration AgNP (silver nanoparticles, 10 nm) and AuNP (gold nanoparticles, 12.8 nm) and AgNP/AuNP mixture to blood biochemistry, hematology, and platelet coagulation, subacute toxicity study was conducted. Methods. AuNP and AgNP in which their size distribution was not statistically different, mixed or separate, were injected into the caudal vein of male Sprague-Dawley rats for 4 weeks. The rats were allowed to recover for a further 4 weeks in order to examine systemic toxicity expressed in the blood biochemistry and hematology. The dose groups (5 males per group for the administration and 3 males for the recovery) consisted of 7 divisions, i.e., control, AgNP (with a low dose of 10 μg/kg/day and a high dose of 100 μg/kg/day), AuNP (with a low dose of 10 μg/kg/day and a high dose of 100 μg/kg/day), and mixed AgNP/AuNP (with a low dose of 10/10 μg/kg/day and a high dose of 100/100 μg/kg/day). Results. There were no significant dose-related changes in the hematology and blood biochemical values for the rats. Coagulation time in terms of the active partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) did not show any significant changes, when compared to the control group. Conclusion. The subacute injection of AuNP and AgNP or their mixture did not induce any noticeable systemic toxicity.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (2) ◽  
pp. H807-H812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy M. Kitchen ◽  
Donal S. O'Leary ◽  
Tadeusz J. Scislo

We have previously shown that activation of P2X purinoceptors in the subpostremal nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) produces a rapid bradycardia and hypotension. This bradycardia could occur via sympathetic withdrawal, parasympathetic activation, or a combination of both mechanisms. Thus we investigated the relative roles of parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal in mediating this bradycardia in chloralose-urethane anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. Microinjections of the selective P2X purinoceptor agonist α,β-methylene ATP (25 pmol/50 nl and 100 pmol/50 nl) were made into the subpostremal NTS in control animals, after atenolol (2 mg/kg iv), a β1-selective antagonist, and after atropine methyl bromide (2 mg/kg iv), a muscarinic receptor antagonist. The bradycardia observed with activation of P2X receptors at the low dose of the agonist is mediated almost entirely by sympathetic withdrawal. After β1-adrenergic blockade, the bradycardia was reduced to just −5.1 ± 0.5 versus −28.8 ± 5.1 beats/min in intact animals. Muscarinic blockade did not produce any significant change in the bradycardic response at the low dose. At the high dose, both β1-adrenergic blockade and muscarinic blockade attenuated the bradycardia similarly, −37.4 ± 6.4 and −40.6 ± 3.7 beats/min, respectively, compared with −88.0 ± 11 beats/min in control animals. Double blockade of both β1-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors virtually abolished the response (−2.5 ± 0.8 beats/min). We conclude that the relative contributions of parasympathetic activation and sympathetic withdrawal are dependent on the extent of P2X receptor activation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangfeng Liu ◽  
Huijun Kang ◽  
Jiangfeng Lu ◽  
Yike Dai ◽  
Fei Wang

Abstract Purpose: Poor osseointegration is the key reason for implant failure after arthroplasty, whether in osteoporotic or normal bone conditions. To date, osseointegration remains a major challenge. Recent studies have shown that deferoxamine(DFO) can accelerate osteogenesis by activation of the hypoxia signal pathway. The purpose of this study is to test the following hypothesis: after knee replacement, intra-articular injection of DFO will promote osteogenesis and osseointegration with titanium prosthesis in the bones of osteoporotic rats.Materials and Methods: 90 female sprague-dawley rats were used for the experiment. Ovariectomy and knee arthroplasty were performed. Then, the rats were randomly divided into DFO and control group(n=40 per group). The two groups were treated by intraarticular injection of DFO and saline respectively. After 2 weeks, polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the levels of HIF-1a, VEGF and CD31. After 12 weeks, the specimens were examined by micro CT, biomechanics and histopathology to evaluate osteogenesis and osseointegration.Results: The results of PCR showed mRNA levels of VEGF and CD31 in DFO group were significantly higher than those in control group. The immunohistochemistry results indicated positive cell expressions of HIF-1a, VEGF and CD31 in DFO group were also higher. Compared to control group, the microCT parameters of BMD, BV/TV, TB.N, TB.Th were significantly higher. The maximal pull-out force and the bone-to-implant contact (BIC) value were also higher . Conclusions: The local administration of DFO which is used to activate HIF-1a signaling pathway can promote osteogenesis and osseointegration with the prosthesis in osteoporotic bone.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xing Zhou ◽  
Guo-Wei Zhang ◽  
Wei-Ning Liang ◽  
Yi-Ze Li ◽  
Song Xu ◽  
...  

To investigate the effect and mechanism of action of Moriamin Forte (MF) on oligoasthenospermia (OA) in rats exposed to multiglycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii (GTW), forty male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups. Rats in the control group were treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. The remaining rats were administered GTW (30 mg/kg/d) for 40 d to establish an OA model. Concurrently, the groups were treated with normal saline and low-dose (100 mg/kg/d) and high-dose (200 mg/kg/d) MF, respectively. After treatment, the number and motility of sperm cells were examined. Testicular and epididymal histomorphology changes were observed. Antioxidant indicators (SOD, CAT, MDA, TAC, and Nrf2) in testicular and epididymal tissues were detected. Apoptotic and antiapoptotic indicators (Bax and Bcl2 expression) in the testicular tissue were measured by immunohistochemistry. GTW decreased sperm count and motility, damaged testicular and epididymis tissues, impaired antioxidase activity, and increased tissue MDA levels. Meanwhile, GTW upregulated the expression of Bax and downregulated the expression of Bcl2. Western blot analysis demonstrated a decrease in the Nrf2 expression in the model group. Treatment with MF improved sperm count and motility, as well as inhibited the rate of apoptosis in the rat reproductive system. Moreover, MF improved the activity of antioxidants and increased the relative expression of the antioxidant pathway-related protein Nrf2. In conclusion, MF may reverse the GTW-induced OA by modulating the expression of apoptotic and antioxidant pathway-related proteins. This study may provide a pharmacological foundation for the use of MF in OA treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Afriyanti Sandhi ◽  
Aditya Wardhana

Background: The hematopoietic growth factor erythropoietin (EPO) attracts attention due to its all-tissue-protective pleiotropic properties. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of EPO in experimental burn wounds healing. Methods: Fifteen healthy Sprague-Dawley, strain of Rattus Novergicus weighing 300-350 grams, were prepared to achieve deep dermal burns. Animals were randomized to receive either low-dose EPO injection (600 IU/mL), high-dose EPO injection (3000 IU/mL) or nothing (control group). After 14 days of observations, quantitative and qualitative assessments of wound healing was determined. Results: The size of the wound area and re-epithelialization rate percentage was determined on Day-0, Day-5, Day-10, and Day-14. The average of raw surface areas measurement (p value: 0.012 in day-5; 0.009 in day-10 and 0.000 in day-14) and healing percentage of the lesions (p value: 0.011 in day-5; 0.016 in day-10 and 0.010 in day-14) were significantly best in the low-dose EPO grup compared to the control group and high-dose EPO grup. The histopathology evaluation revealed that the highest score for for re-epithelialization, granulation tissue and neo-angiogenesis were achieved by the low-dose EPO injection group than in both control and high-dose EPO injection groups. Conclusion: In this animal study using Sprague-Dawley rats, Recombinant Human EPO (rHuEPO) injection administration prompted the evidences of improved re-epithelialization and wound healing process of the skin caused by deep dermal burns. These findings may lead to a new therapeutic approach to improve the clinical outcomes for the management of burns wound healing.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (2) ◽  
pp. F412-F417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattias Carlström ◽  
Christopher S. Wilcox ◽  
William J. Welch

Adenosine can mediate the tubuloglomerular (TGF) response via activation of A1 receptors on the afferent arteriole, but both adenosine A1 and A2 receptors can regulate preglomerular resistance. We tested the hypothesis that adenosine A2 receptors offset the effect of A1 receptors and modulate the TGF. Maximal TGF responses were measured in male Sprague-Dawley rats as changes in proximal stop-flow pressure (ΔPSF) in response to increased perfusion of the loop of Henle (0 to 40 nl/min) with artificial tubular fluid (ATF). The maximal TGF response was studied after 5 min of intratubular perfusion (10 nl/min) with ATF alone, or with ATF plus the A2A receptor antagonist (ZM-241385; 10−7 or 10−5 mol/l), A1 receptor antagonist (PSB-36; 10−8 mol/l), or with a combination of A1 (PSB-36; 10−8 mol/l) and A2A (ZM-241385; 10−7 mol/l) antagonists. The maximal TGF response (ΔPSF) with ATF alone was 11.7 ± 1.0 mmHg. Specific A2 inhibition (low dose) enhanced the maximal TGF response (15.7 ± 0.8 mmHg; P < 0.01), whereas a high dose (unspecific inhibition) attenuated the response (5.0 ± 0.4 mmHg; P < 0.001). A1 inhibition alone led to a paradoxical TGF response, with an increase in PSF of 3.1 ± 0.5 mmHg ( P < 0.05). Simultaneous application of A1 and A2 antagonists abolished the TGF response (ΔPSF: 0.4 ± 0.3 mmHg). In conclusion, adenosine A2 receptors modulate the TGF response by counteracting the effects of adenosine A1 receptors.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 786-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minfen Yan ◽  
Gaoren Zhong ◽  
Linfeng Gao ◽  
Xiqiao Xia ◽  
Lihua Wang ◽  
...  

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of depleted uranium (DU) on 1α-hydroxylase in the kidney of rats and to delinerate the mechanism of damage to kidneys and bones by DU. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were surgically implanted with DU fragments at three dose levels (0.1 g, 0.2 g and 0.3 g). After 3, 6 or 12 months, the concentration of 1α,25(OH)2D3 in the kidney was measured by radioimmunoassay. The activity of 1α-hydroxylase was shown by the production of 1α,25(OH)2D3 after incubation. The results showed that the 1α-hydroxylase activity in the kidney was decreased after 3 months (27.2% at the medium dose DU group, p < 0.05; 33.4% at the high dose DU group, p < 0.01). In contrast, at 6 months and 12 months after implantation of DU, the activity of renal 1α-hydroxylase in DU-treated animals was not decreased significantly in comparison with the controls (p > 0.05). On the other hand, the activity of renal 1α-hydroxylase was decreased by 33.1% (p < 0.05) and 34.4% (p < 0.01) in blank control groups at 6 and 12 months, respectively, when compared with the blank control group at 3 months. In conclusion, this study showed that chronic DU exposure could induce renal damages and inhibit the synthesis of biologically active form of vitamin D, which may be the underlying mechanism of bone metabolic disorder caused by renal injury after DU exposure.


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