Oxidative stress and reproductive disorders in hyperglycemic male rats : antioxidant potencial of vitamins C and E / Relação entre estresse oxidativo e desordens reprodutivas em ratos machos hiperglicemicos : potencial antioxidante das vitaminas C e E

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2009

RESUMO

The hyperglycemia is related to disorders in the male reproductive system. When induced chemically, it can reduce the sexual hormones’ level, reproductive organs’ weight, sperm concentration, and fertility as well as the male rat sexual behavior. In men, the hyperglycemia can lead to sexual impotence, libido and spermatogenesis reduction. However, the main factors that are responsible for these alterations are still controversial. One of the possible causes for this would be the increase of the oxidative stress, which can cause lipid peroxidation in the biological membranes, hyperglycemic neuropathies, injury in the DNA molecule and to compromise the cellular communication. However, there is a lack of information related to the increased oxidative stress effect with the morphophysiology from the male reproductive system in hyperglycemic subjects. In this sense, the aim of the present study was to evaluate if the treatment with antioxidants (vitamins C and/or E), lowering the oxidative stress, could somehow attenuate the damages caused by hyperglycemia in the male rat reproductive system. Therefore the hyperglycemia was induced chemically using a single dose of streptozotocin antibiotic in male adult rats (90 days old; 9 or 10/experimental group). These animals were divided into experimental groups that received vitamin C or E (isolated or in association), or only the vehicles (normoglycemic group) during thirty consecutive days orally. At the 31st day from the experimental period, after the euthanasia of the rats, blood was collected to evaluate biomarkers of oxidative stress and hormonal levels, and reproductive organs to evaluate the permatic parameters and the noradrenergic response of vas deferens. The experimental design described above was applied in another amount of animals for the accomplishment of histopathological and morphometric analysis from testis and epididymis. The results showed that hyperglycemia caused significant increase in the oxidative stress and in the sensibility of noradrenergic a1 receptors, decrease in the body mass and in the reproductive organs’ weights, reduction on the sperm motility, on epididymal tissue, in the testosterone level, an increase in the malformed sperm number and a rearrangement in the epididymal tissue components. The vitamins reduced significantly the level of oxidative stress and the number of malformed sperm, but in both cases vitamin C was more effective. These vitamins also reduced partly the sensibility to noradrenalin in the a receptors. In relation to the injuries in the sperm motility, the vitamin C alone attenuated partly these alterations. In addition, the vitamin C alone also prevented the reduction of the epididymal compartimental. Besides that, the vitamin C alone and in association to vitamin E reestablished partly the testosterone levels. Meanwhile, the association of the vitamins caused a significant reduction in the LH levels. Nonetheless, the daily sperm production, the transit time by epididymis, the histological aspect of the testes and epididymides, the seminiferous tubular diameter, the FSH levels and the maximum noradrenergic response were statistically equal among the groups. In summary, these vitamins, acting as antioxidants, may reduce some changes in the rat male reproductive system caused by hyperglycemia.

ASSUNTO(S)

vitamin e oxidative stress vitamina e hyperglycemia hiperglicemia estresse oxidativo vitamina c reproduction vitamin c reprodução

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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