Effect of allopurinol on germ cell apoptosis following testicular ischemia–reperfusion injury in a rat
Authors: Arnold G Coran
Ofer Nativ
Gil Meyer
Katya Voskoboinik
Eitan Shiloni
Jorge G Mogilner
Igor Sukhotnik
Journal: Pediatric surgery international (2008)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: apoptosis; allopurinol; testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury; germ cell loss; rat model
Affiliations: Department of Pediatric Surgery, The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.

Abstract:  Recent evidence suggests that apoptosis is involved in germ cell loss following testicular ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Allopurinol (Allo) is as a free radical scavenger which prevents tissue damage caused by reperfusion and oxygenation after ischemia; however, its effect on apoptosis in this type of injury has not been studied. To examine the effect of allopurinol on germ cell apoptosis following testicular IR in a rat. Forty rats were divided randomly into 4 experimental groups of 10 rats each: group A (Sham)-Sham operated animals; group B (Sham-Allo)-Sham operated rats treated with allopurinol given PO (by gavage) at a dose of 200 mg/kg, once daily, immediately before and 24 h following operation; group C (IR)-rats underwent 90 min of unilateral testicular ischemia and 48 h of reperfusion; group D (IR-Allo)-rats underwent IR and were treated with allopurinol similar to group B. The ipsilateral and contralateral testes were harvested 48 h following operation. Johnsen's criteria and the number of germinal cell layers were used to categorize spermatogenesis. TUNEL assay was used to determine germ cell apoptosis. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA test, with P &lt; 0.05 considered statistically significant. Testicular ischemia in rats led to histological damage in the ipsilateral testis. In the contralateral testis minimal damage was observed. Treatment with allopurinol increased significantly Johnsen's score in both the ischemic (7.3 +/- 0.5 vs 5.6 +/- 0.5, P &lt; 0.05) and contralateral (8.9 +/- 0.1 vs 8.3 +/- 0.2, P &lt; 0.05) testis, compared to IR-animals. Germ cell apoptosis in both the ischemic and the contralateral testis increased significantly after IR. Treatment with allopurinol resulted in a significant decrease in germ cell apoptosis in the ipsilateral testis, expressed as the number of positive tubules per 100 tubules (AI-1, (apoptotic index) threefold decrease, P &lt; 0.005) and the number of apoptotic cells per 100 tubules (AI-2, fivefold decrease, P &lt; 0.005) as well as a significant decrease in germ cell apoptosis in the contralateral testis (AI-1, 3.5-fold decrease, P &lt; 0.05, AI-2- sixfold decrease, P &lt; 0.005) compared to IR animals. In a rat model of testicular IR, treatment with allopurinol decreases germ cell apoptosis in both ischemic and contralateral testes and improves spermatogenesis. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 Panels in Figure 1 and 2 in this paper appear to look similar to panels in a 2013 paper by the same authors, i.e. Sukhotnik et al., Pediatr Surg Int (2013), DOI 10.1007 s00383-012-3197-0 - https: pubpeer.com publications 8D80CD448F73DB69CC702FA9FF60D3 Of note, the 2008 Sham panel reflects a sham-operated animal, while the 2013 CONTR animal was only injected with saline. These are very different experiments, presumably done years apart, so it is surprising to see such similar photos. ![file] ,