Protective effects of catalpol on diabetes mellitus-induced male reproductive damage via suppression of the AGEs/RAGE/Nox4 signaling pathway

Publication date: Available online 6 August 2019Source: Life SciencesAuthor(s): Ni Jiao, Yuping Chen, Yihui Zhu, Wei Wang, Mengxue Liu, Wangli Ding, Gaohong Lv, Jinfu Lu, Bin Yu, Huiqin XuAbstractAimsDiabetes mellitus (DM)-induced reproductive damage is an important cause of infertility for male DM patients, we herein evaluated the effects of catalpol on diabetic reproductive damage through the suppression of the AGEs/RAGE/Nox4 signaling pathway.MethodsKK-Ay diabetic reproductive damage mice were administered with catalpol for 8 weeks, the testis/body weight ratio, testicular histopathology, the levels of endogenous hormone and the activity of testicular marker enzymes were determined. In vitro, the GC-2 cell injury model was induced by advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) and pretreated with catalpol. Cell viability, apoptosis, and oxidative stress markers were detected and the mechanism based on the AGEs/RAGE/Nox4 pathway was explored.Key findingsCatalpol showed remarkable capacity on protecting diabetic reproductive damage by improving the histomorphology of the testes, increasing the testis/body weight ratio and activity of acid phosphatase (ACP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT). The reduced testosterone (T), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in DM mice were also reversed with catalpol intervention. Moreover, catalpol showed markedly effects of anti-oxidative in vivo and in vitro, which significantly...
Source: Life Sciences - Category: Biology Source Type: research