Sönmez Mehmet F, Karabulut Derya, Kilic Eser, Akalin Hilal, Sakalar Cagri, Gunduz Yusuf, Kara Ayça, Dundar Munis
Erciyes University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology, Kayseri, Turkey.
Folia Histochem Cytobiol. 2015;53(1):26-34. doi: 10.5603/FHC.a2015.0006. Epub 2015 Mar 13.
Ghrelin is a hormone which has effects on the secretion of growth hormone, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, cell proliferation and reproductive system. The present study we focused on the relation between ghrelin and GHS-R1a gene expression and the regulation of their expression in the testes of diabetic rats.
40 male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups: control, and sampled 4, 8 and 12 weeks after induction of diabetes by streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection (40 mg/kg). The rats were decapitated under ketamine anesthesia and their testes were removed. Blood was obtained from heart and serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone levels were measured by ELISA. Tissue ghrelin and GHS-R mRNA levels were determined by qRT-PCR, while ghrelin protein expression was studied by immunohistochemistry. Histopathological damage scores were also assessed.
Eight weeks after diabetes induction serum FSH level was increased, whereas LH and testosterone concentrations decreased. The ghrelin and GHS-R1a gene expression and ghrelin immunohistochemistry score first tended to increase after first four weeks of diabetes, and then tended to decrease. Ghrelin-immunopositive cells were detected in Leydig cells in all groups of rats, however, not in the germinal epithelium. Congestion of vessels and hemorrhage, formation of the vacuoles in spermatogonia and spermatocytes, desquamation of spermatids in the lumen and disorganization of seminiferous tubule germinal epithelium were observed in testis of all the diabetic rats. In addition, mean testicular biopsy score and mean seminiferous tubule diameter were getting lower in diabetic animals.
Our results suggest that diabetes affects ghrelin expression in rat testis.
胃饥饿素是一种对生长激素分泌、胃肠系统、心血管系统、细胞增殖和生殖系统有影响的激素。在本研究中，我们重点关注胃饥饿素与生长激素促分泌素受体1a（GHS-R1a）基因表达之间的关系，以及它们在糖尿病大鼠睾丸中的表达调控。
40只雄性Wistar白化大鼠被分为四组：对照组，以及腹腔注射链脲佐菌素（STZ，40mg/kg）诱导糖尿病后4周、8周和12周取样的组。大鼠在氯胺酮麻醉下断头，取出睾丸。从心脏取血，通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测量血清卵泡刺激素（FSH）、黄体生成素（LH）和睾酮水平。通过定量逆转录聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）测定组织胃饥饿素和GHS-R mRNA水平，同时通过免疫组织化学研究胃饥饿素蛋白表达。还评估了组织病理学损伤评分。
糖尿病诱导8周后，血清FSH水平升高，而LH和睾酮浓度降低。糖尿病前四周后，胃饥饿素和GHS-R1a基因表达以及胃饥饿素免疫组织化学评分首先趋于升高，然后趋于降低。在所有大鼠组的睾丸间质细胞中均检测到胃饥饿素免疫阳性细胞，但在生精上皮中未检测到。在所有糖尿病大鼠的睾丸中均观察到血管充血和出血、精原细胞和精母细胞中液泡形成、管腔中精子细胞脱落以及生精小管生精上皮紊乱。此外，糖尿病动物的平均睾丸活检评分和平均生精小管直径降低。
我们的结果表明，糖尿病会影响大鼠睾丸中胃饥饿素的表达。
