Protective effects of L-carnitine on testicular injury induced by cyclophosphamide in rats through β-catenin signaling

doi:10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2020.03.009

Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy ›› 2020, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3) : 283-288. DOI: 10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2020.03.009

ZENG Peng¹，QI Rui¹，WANG Jin¹，SUN Xiao¹，DAI You-guo²，ZHANG Peng-fei¹，YANG Li¹，GUO Ze-yun¹

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Abstract

Objective　To investigate the protective effects and possible mechanisms of L-carnitine (LC) on cyclophosphamide (CP) induced testicular injury in rats.　Methods　Eighteen male rats were randomly divided into three groups and received intraperitoneal injection of appropriate drug（a Normal saline group, a CP group, a CP+LC group）. General conditions, weight and testicular weight of rats were recorded. The testicular injury condition was detected by HE staining, and the expression of β-catenin in testis was detected by immunohistochemistry and western blotting.　Results　The testicular weight in the CP group was lower than that of the NS group（P<0.05）. While the testicular weight recovered in the CP+LC group（P<0.05）. HE staining result showed that the number of spermatogenic cell layers in CP group decreased significantly than that of the NS group（P<0.05）, but the number of spermatogenic cell layers of the CP+LC group was higher than that of the CP group（P<0.05）. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot result showed that the expression of β-catenin in the CP group was higher than that of the NS group（P<0.05）while the expression of β-catenin in the CP+LC group was lower than that of the CP group（P<0.05）. Conclusions L-carnitine can protect testicular injury in rats which induced by Cyclophosphamide through down-regulated β-catenin signaling, which makes a potential therapeutic significance for male fertility disorder caused by antitumor drugs.

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/ L-carnitine / 　Cyclophosphamide / 　Testis / 　β-catenin

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ZENG Peng, QI Rui, WANG Jin, SUN Xiao, DAI You-guo, ZHANG Peng-fei, YANG Li, GUO Ze-yun. Protective effects of L-carnitine on testicular injury induced by cyclophosphamide in rats through β-catenin signaling[J]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy. 2020, 38(3): 283-288 https://doi.org/10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2020.03.009

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