Effects of aging on testicular autophagy and integrity of blood-testis barrier in rats / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To investigate the changes of autoph- A gy in rat testis and its effect on blood-testis barrier during aging. Methods HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of testis in SD male rats at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months old. Western blot was used to detect the relative expression of autophagy-re-lated proteins Beclinl, ATG5, ATG7 and 1X13II, and the blood-testis barrier related connexins Occludin and (3-catenin. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression and localization of the autophagy-associated proteins Beclinl and LC3, as well as the protein of the cell connexin p-catenin. Results HE staining showed that the morphology and structure of rat testis changed significantly during the aging process, the seminiferous tubules atrophied, the number of spermatogenic cells decreased, the gap between cells increased, and partial shedding occurred. Western blot results showed that the relative expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclinl, ATG5, ATG7 and LC3II, and the blood-testis barrier-related proteins Occludin and p-catenin gradually decreased during aging. The results of immunofluorescence showed that the autophagy marker proteins Beclinl and LC3 were down-regulated in rat seminiferous epithelial cells during the aging process, and the expression of the blood-testis barrier marker protein p-catenin also gradually decreased. Conclusions During the aging process, the spermato-genic function of the testis is reduced in rats, and the mechanism is related to the decrease of the autophagy level of testicular spermatogenic epithelial cells, which in turn destroys the integrity of the blood testis barrier.