Capsaicin effectively prevents apoptosis in the contralateral testis after ipsilateral testicular torsion

Therapeutic effects of thymoquinone or capsaicin on acrylamide-induced reproductive toxicity in rats mediated by their effect on oxidative stress, inflammation, and tight junction integrity

In the field of environmental toxicology, endocrine-disrupting effects have become a major concern. The present research set out to investigate the possible reproductive toxicity of acrylamide. The research was also expanded to explore the protective effects of two nutraceuticals, thymoquinone (TQ) and capsaicin, against acrylamide-induced reproductive toxicity. Six groups of sixty male albino rats were created. Group 1 was used as a control. Rats were administered a daily dose of acrylamide and acted as the model in Group 2. TQ was provided to rats once a day in Group 3. Capsaicin was administered to rats once a day in Group 4. TQ was given once daily to rats exposed to acrylamide in Group 5. Rats were given capsaicin once a day for eight weeks after being exposed to acrylamide in Group 6. Acrylamide induced oxidative stress, testicular NF-κB/p65 expression, and down-regulated the expression of occludin, all of which can contribute to its testicular toxicity, while TQ or capsaicin removes all of these toxicity signs. TQ and capsaicin have shown efficacy in alleviating all of the acrylamide's toxic insults in the current reproductive toxicity model. Both nutraceuticals upregulated the expression of occludin in testicular tissue and restored tight junction integrity, in addition to their well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which were confirmed in this study.

Effect of dietary curcumin and capsaicin on testicular and hepatic oxidant–antioxidant status in rats fed a high-fat diet

This study investigated the effects of curcumin and capsaicin on testicular and hepatic oxidant–antioxidant status in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups (8 rats per group). The control group was fed a normal control diet (standard laboratory chow), the HFD group was fed HFD (60% of total calories from fat), the HFD+CUR group received HFD supplemented with curcumin (1.5 g curcumin/kg HFD), the HFD+CAP group was given HFD supplemented with capsaicin (0.15 g capsaicin/kg HFD), and the HFD+CUR+CAP group received HFD supplemented with curcumin and capsaicin for 16 weeks. Hepatic and testicular thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH) levels, glutathione transferase activity, and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase protein expression and enzyme activities were measured. Protein expression was determined by Western blotting. GSH levels and antioxidant enzyme activities were measured with colorimetric methods. HFD slightly increased hepatic and testicular oxidative stress parameters. GSH levels did not change between groups. TBARS and ROS levels were significantly reduced in the HFD+CUR+CAP group compared with the HFD group. Liver and testis antioxidant enzyme activities and expression increased significantly with combined capsaicin and curcumin treatment. Curcumin and capsaicin treatment attenuated testicular and hepatic oxidative stress and enhanced the antioxidant defense system. The combination of capsaicin and curcumin with HFD seems to have some remarkable and beneficial effects on testicular oxidative damage in the fatty liver rat model.

Capsaicin protects against testicular torsion injury through mTOR-dependent mechanism

SCOPE

Testicular torsion and subsequent release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause infertility in adults. Oxidative stress following testicular torsion plays an important role in the ýonset and development of apoptotic cell death through dysregulation of the cellular signaling pathways. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of capsaicin, a bioactive composition present in red peppers, has already been exploited for treatment of the cancer and pain relief. In present work, we evaluated the role of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in antioxidant effect of capsaicin against reperfusion injury following testicular torsion.

METHODS

Male Wistar rats weighing 200-220 g were randomly assigned into four major groups: (i) a sham operated group, (ii) a testicular torsion (TT) group, (iii) three groups treated with different doses of capsaicin (TT + 100, 500 and 1000 μg/ml Cap), and (iv) three groups of healthy rats treated with different doses of capsaicin (100, 500 and 1000 μg/ml). Western blotting assay was used to examine the anti-apoptotic effects of capsaicin in testicular cells following torsion. H&E and TUNEL methods were used to evaluate testicular morphology and apoptosis activity.

RESULTS

Compared to control group, phosphorylation of mTOR was significantly increased in the TT groups. Capsaicin administration remarkably decreased the phosphorylation of mTOR at the highest dose (P < 0.05). Capsaicin decreased apoptosis and preserved tubular morphology in testes.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that antioxidant properties of capsaicin minimizes cell death and reperfusion injury following testicular torsion.

Induction of Bladder Overactivity by Nerve Growth Factor in Testes in Rats: Possible Neural Crosstalk Between the Testes and Urinary Bladder

OBJECTIVES

To clarify the pathophysiological factor underlying neural crosstalk among pelvic organs, we investigated the possible role of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the neural crosstalk between the testes and urinary bladder.

METHODS

Nerve growth factor (10, 30, and 100 µg/mL) or saline was injected into the testes of male Wistar rats. The change in bladder capacity via cystometry and duration of spontaneous scratching behavior induced by NGF in conscious rats was measured. The effects of pretreatment with capsaicin on NGF-induced changes in bladder capacity and behavior were examined. Further, we evaluated the effect of analgesics, indomethacin and morphine, and pretreatment with compound 48/80 on NGF-induced scratching behavior to elucidate the mechanism of the behavior.

RESULTS

Injection of saline into the testes had no effect on bladder capacity or behavior. However, an injection of NGF (30 and 100 µg/mL) reduced bladder capacity, which was regarded as bladder overactivity, and evoked scratching behavior in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with capsaicin inhibited NGF-induced bladder overactivity and scratching behavior. Neither indomethacin nor pretreatment with compound 48/80 affected the scratching behavior, but morphine inhibited the behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides evidence of a possible new role of NGF in the testes regarding the activation of testicular primary afferent neurons mediated by capsaicin-sensitive C-fibers, which evokes bladder overactivity via neural crosstalk between the testes and the urinary bladder as well as testicular pain.

Behavioral and urological evaluation of a testicular pain model

OBJECTIVES

To develop an animal model of testicular pain to examine the hypothesis that neural crosstalk between testicular nociceptors and bladder reflex pathways may underlie bladder overactivity. In chronic pelvic pain disorders, neural crosstalk is thought to underlie referred pain and functional interaction in pelvic organs, and patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) suffer from pain in multiple organs, including the testes and perineum, as well as increased urinary frequency.

METHODS

In male Wistar rats, acetic acid was injected into the testes, and behaviors and bladder functions with conscious cystometry were examined. The effects of indomethacin and capsaicin pretreatment on both behaviors and bladder functional changes induced by acetic acid injection were examined. The weight of the testes and bladder after the testicular injection were measured.

RESULTS

Injection of acetic acid (1% and 3%) induced pain behaviors and bladder overactivity proportional to the concentration. Indomethacin reduced, and capsaicin pretreatment almost completely abolished, both pain behavior and bladder overactivity induced by acetic acid injection. Administration of acetic acid increased testis weight and blanched the tissue, but no apparent changes were observed in the bladder.

CONCLUSIONS

Injection of dilute acetic acid into the testes produces a reproducible testicular pain model involving testicular inflammation and activation of primary afferent C fibers and suggests a neural pathway for interaction between testicular pain and bladder overactivity. This study may provide a simple method to evaluate testicular pain, related bladder overactivity, and insight into the pathophysiology of bladder overactivity in patients with CP/CPPS.

Protective effect of edaravone, a free-radical scavenger, on ischaemia-reperfusion injury in the rat testis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of edaravone, a radical scavenger, on ischaemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury in the testes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to one of four groups: a no-drug group subjected to induction of 30-min of ischaemia and 60-min reperfusion; two drug groups administered edaravone at 1 or 10 mg/kg intraperitoneal and then subjected to 30-min ischaemia and 60-min reperfusion; and a sham-operated control group administered edaravone at 10 mg/kg intraperitoneal. To induce testicular I-R, the right testis was exposed outside of the body and the testicular artery was clamped with a small clip for 30 min. Blood flow and nitric oxide (NO) release were monitored in real time simultaneously with a laser Doppler flowmeter and an NO-selective electrode, respectively. After death the tissue levels of NO(2)-NO(3) (a marker of NO production), malondialdehyde (a marker of lipid peroxidation), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (a marker of oxidative DNA damage), myeloperoxidase (a marker of neutrophil infiltration), and heat-shock protein 70 (HSP 70) and its mRNA were measured. The testicular tissue was also analysed histologically.

RESULTS

Clamping the testicular artery resulted in a decrease of blood flow to 0-5% of the basal level measured before clamping. NO release was increased during clamping and gradually recovered to the basal level on removing the clip. Interestingly, the peak of NO release in rats of the no-drug group occurred at the start of reperfusion, while that in the high-dose drug group occurred several minutes later. The levels of NO(2)-NO(3), malondialdehyde, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, myeloperoxidase and HSP 70 and its mRNA, and histological variables, were significantly greater in the no-drug I-R group than in the control, and these variables were ameliorated by treatment with edaravone.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that edaravone reduces the oxidative stress and prevents the testicular damage induced by I-R.

Emergent surgical complications of genitourinary infections

The entities described in this article represent processes that arise from, or can be mistaken for, common GU infections. It might be difficult to determine the point at which pyelonephritis develops into EPN or perinephric abscess. It might be equally challenging to distinguish scrotal cellulitis from Fournier's gangrene; however, as most EPs will acknowledge, the mere awareness of these entities in the appropriate clinical circumstances might be enough to prevent a "near-miss" of a surgical emergency.