Protective effect of Wuzi Yanzong recipe on testicular dysfunction through inhibition of germ cell apoptosis in ageing rats via endoplasmic reticulum stress.
Haixia ZhaoNa MaZhaoqi LiuTing WangChengfu YuanYumin HeYaoyan DunZhiyong ZhouDing YuanChangcheng ZhangPublished in: Andrologia (2018)
It has been demonstrated that excessively activated endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) is closely associated with ageing-related diseases and male reproductive dysfunction. Wuzi Yanzong recipe (WZ) is a classical Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription for treatment of male reproductive system diseases. However, it remains unknown whether WZ improves testicular dysfunction with ageing via ERS. In this study, we investigated the protective effects and its mechanism of WZ on testicular dysfunction in ageing rats. The results showed that treatment with WZ for 4 months significantly increased the testicular weight and index, sperm count and viability, and the levels of testosterone and decreased the levels of estradiol. In addition, WZ significantly activated the onset of ERS and prevented germ cell apoptosis by upregulating the expression levels of ERS-responsive proteins GRP78, phospho-PERK, phospho-eIF2α, ATF4, phospho-IRE-1α, XBP1 and ATF6α, and downregulating the expression levels of pro-apoptotic proteins p-JNK, Caspase12 and CHOP in testicular germ cell of ageing rats. Besides, WZ significantly decreased the numbers of TUNEL-positive cells. Taken together, WZ effectively improves ageing-related testicular dysfunction through inhibition of germ cell apoptosis via ERS.
Keyphrases
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- induced apoptosis
- germ cell
- oxidative stress
- poor prognosis
- cell proliferation
- body mass index
- diffuse large b cell lymphoma
- transcription factor
- weight loss
- replacement therapy
- mass spectrometry
- cancer therapy
- drug delivery
- atomic force microscopy
- single molecule
- body weight
- smoking cessation