Determination of M1/M2 Macrophage Polarization in Ipsilateral and Contralateral Rat Testis Tissue Following Unilateral Torsion/Detorsion.

The present study investigates the changes in M1/M2 macrophage polarization resulting from unilateral testicular torsion in the bilateral testis. The study sample included 63 male Sprague-Dawley rats, which were randomly divided into nine groups (n = 7): Control, Sham (4 h (4 h), 24 h, 7 days (7d), 14d), and Torsion/Detorsion (T/D) (4 h, 24 h, 7d, 14d). Histopathological evaluations revealed no changes in the Sham groups, while T/D was noted to cause edema, vascular occlusion, disruption of seminiferous tubule epithelial organization, germ cell abnormalities and structural anomalies in the experimental rats, the severity and extent of which increased from 4 h to 14d after T/D. The Cosentino scores used to determine the degree of histological damage were consistent with the histopathological findings in all groups, while the Johnsen scores, as a marker of spermatogenesis, were lower in the T/D groups. Seminiferous tubule diameters and germinal epithelial thickness decreased significantly in parallel with increased tubule damage in the ipsilateral testicles. Testicular torsion significantly affected sperm motility, with significant reductions observed in the T/D 7d and T/D 14d groups. A hormone profile analysis revealed decreased testosterone levels in both the Sham and T/D groups when compared to the Controls. CD68 and CD163 immunoreactivities, as M1 and M2 macrophage surface markers, were determined in the testicular tissue using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method. T/D interventions caused M1/M2 macrophage polarization changes and increased M1 macrophages, particularly in contralateral testicular tissue. The increase in M1 macrophages in contralateral testicular tissue following T/D in the present study suggests that cell processes, including macrophages, may play an important role in contralateral testicular injury.

The investigation of effect of alpha lipoic acid against damage on neonatal rat lung to maternal tobacco smoke exposure.

This study was carried out to determine the changes in the lungs of the rat pups exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy period and to investigate the protective effects of alpha lipoic acid, which is administered during pregnancy, on these changes. Spraque-Dawley female rats were divided into four groups: control, tobacco smoke (TS), tobacco smoke + alpha lipoic acid (TS + ALA) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA). The rats in control group were untreated. Rats were exposed to TS twice a day for one hour starting from eight weeks before mating and during pregnancy. 20 mg / kg of ALA was administered to rats. On 7th and 21st days 7 of the pups from each group were decapitated. Histological, morphometric, biochemical and quantitative real-time RT-PCR analyzes were performed. Histopathological and biochemical changes were observed in TS group. While a significant decrease was observed both in SP-A and VEGF immunoreactivities and mRNA levels, caspase-3 immunoreactivity and TUNEL positive cells were increased in TS group. It is suggested that prenatal TS exposure leads to morphological and histopathological changes on lung development by causing oxidative damage in lungs of neonatal rats and the maternal use of ALA can provide a limited protective effect on the neonatal lung development against this oxidative stress originating from TS. Although pregnant women are increasingly aware on health risks of smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure is still a widespread problem. For this reason, it is thought that this damage can be partially reduced by some antioxidant supplements in pregnancy.

Protective effects of vitamin D3 against d-galactosamine-induced liver injury in rats.

In this study, we examined liver damage induced by d-galactosamine (d-GaIN) and the protective effects of vitamin D3 in relation to d-GaIN toxicity. Twenty Wistar albino rats were used in this study. The rats were divided into four groups. Group I rats were used as the control group. Group II rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of d-GaIN. Group III rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of d-GaIN, intramuscular vitamin D3 for five days. Group IV rats were given intramuscular vitamin D3 for five days. All of rats were euthanized by cervical decapitation on the fifth day of experiment. Upon completion of the experiment, a midsaggital incision was performed, and the livers of all rats were removed and fixed. The livers were processed to perform TUNEL technique and histochemical staining. During the microscope examination, we observed inflamatory cell infiltration, sinusoidal dilatation, and apoptotic bodies due to d-GaIN exposure. In addition, glycogen content of the group II hepatocytes was significantly decreased. Vitamin D3 treatment provided better structural apperance of the livers in group III. TUNEL positive cells were extremly pervasive in the group II livers. The study found group III TUNEL positive cells at a reduced rate in relation to group II due to vitamin D3 treatment. This findings indicate that d-GaIN causes inflamation in the liver. This inflamation triggers the apoptotic process gradually. Vitamin D3 has potency to decrease the severity of d-GaIN-caused structural liver damage.

Effects of silymarin on methotrexate-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Methotrexate (MTX) is widely used in the treatment of various malignancies and nononcological diseases but its use has been limited by its nephrotoxicity. Silymarin (SLY), a natural flavonoid, has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. This study was carried out to determine whether SLY exerts a protective effect against MTX-induced nephrotoxicity. Rats were divided into six groups: Group 1 (saline, i.p., single injection), Group 2 (0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), by gavage once daily for five consecutive days), Group 3 (SLY, 300 mg/kg per day, i.p. for five consecutive days), Group 4 (MTX, 20 mg/kg, i.p., single injection), Group 5 (MTX + CMC similarly as groups 2 and 4) and Group 6 (MTX + CMC + SLY similarly as groups 2, 3 and 4). Histopathologic alterations including apoptotic changes of the kidney were evaluated. MTX injection exhibited dilated Bowman's space, inflammatory cell infiltration, glomerular and peritubular vascular congestion and swelling of renal tubular epithelium cells. Apoptotic cell death was also markedly increased in renal tubules after MTX administration. SLY treatment resulted in statistically significant amelioration in the histological alterations and reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells as compared with the MTX treated rats (p < 0.05). In conclusion, SLY treatment leads to a reduction on MTX-induced renal damage in rats. Since SLY is safe and acceptable for human consumption, further studies to define the exact mechanism of the protecting effect of SLY on MTX-induced nephrotoxicity and the optimum dosage of this compound would be useful.

Vitamin D status in cattle with malignant catarrhal fever.

The aim of the present study was to determine the vitamin D status in cattle with malignant catarrhal fever (MCF). Twelve cattle diagnosed as MCF and 6 healthy cattle (controls) were used in the study. Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25-D), 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25-D), calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were determined as 96.83 pg/ml, 30.0 ng/ml, 2.19 mmol/l, 1.57 mmol/l and 15.21 pg/ml in MCF group and 42.33 pg/ml, 37.0 ng/ml, 2.43 mmol/l, 1.96 mmol/l and 36.08 pg/ml in controls, respectively. Although serum 1,25-D level in the MCF group was increased (P<0.01), serum calcium (P<0.01) and PTH (P<0.05) levels were decreased compared to the controls. The results suggest that there might be an interaction between vitamin D status and MCF.

Effects of testosterone on orchiectomy-induced oxidative damage in the rat hippocampus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological changes of the hippocampus after orchiectomy and the protective effects of testosterone on these changes. Animals were divided into 3 groups. The rats in group I were used for sham-orchiectomy. Orchiectomy was performed on the rats in group II. The rats in group III were administrated testosterone propionate 0.5mg/kg/day for 30 days after the orchiectomy. Some of the hippocampal tissues were used for determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzyme activities, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The remaining hippocampal tissue specimens were stained with routine histological methods and examined under the light microscope. Additionally, the samples were immunohistochemically stained by using avidin-biotin-peroxidase for determination of bax immunoreactivity. The SOD and GSH-Px enzyme activities of the hippocampus were decreased, and MDA levels were increased in group II rats compared to the sham-orchiectomy group. In the light microscopic evaluation of the tissue specimens from group II, significant increases were detected in the number of picnotic cells and in bax immunoreactivity compared to the sham-orchiectomy group. However, an increase was observed in activities of SOD and GSH-Px enzymes and a decrease of the MDA levels in animals with orchiectomy, but having externally administered testosterone. It was determined that the increase of bax immunoreactivity and histopathological changes in this group were regressed by testosterone. The results of our study revealed that orchiectomy-induced oxidative damage and morphological changes in the hippocampal tissue were suppressed by testosterone.

High cardiac troponin I plasma concentration in a calf with myocarditis.

A 15-day-old Brown Swiss calf, whose dam had suffered from foot-and-mouth disease, was presented with a history of depression and failure to suckle. The calf had an irregular cardiac rhythm and increased plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI) detected with a commercial human immunoassay. The calf died the following day and myocarditis was detected. The cTnI assay may be useful in diagnosis of myocarditis in cattle.

Effects of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) on adriamycin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Although immune-mediated pathogenesis in adriamycin (ADR)-induced nephropathy has been proposed recently, studies are lacking about the effects of immunmodulators, such as vitamin D, on ADR-induced nephrotoxicity. We hypothesized that vitamin D(3) (cholecalciferol) would be beneficial on ADR-induced nephropathy because of its immunmodulatory properties. Eighteen male Wistar rats were divided into three groups (n = 6): group 1 (control), group 2 (single ADR injection intravenously), and group 3 (similar single ADR injection intravenously + daily oral cholecalciferol for 21 days) were used in the study. A single high dose of ADR resulted in increased urinary protein: creatinine ratio for all three weeks of the experiment in both groups 2 and 3 compared with the controls. Histological examination of the kidney tissue revealed distinct tubular lesions as tubular necrosis, hyaline casts in tubular lumen, tubular degeneration, tubular dilatation, and tubular vacuolization in group 2 compared with group 1. These tubular lesions were significantly reduced in group 3 compared to group 2. The results of this study indicate that cholecalciferol causes satisfactory tubulointerstitial recovery in ADR-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Determination of ghrelin immunoreactivity in kidney tissues of diabetic rats.

BACKGROUNDS/AIMS: Ghrelin, a recently discovered hormone, is released largely from stomach and might affect insulin secretion and glucose metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the immunohistochemical localization of ghrelin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat kidneys. METHODS: Fifty-four adult male Wistar rats were used in this study. All rats were divided into nine groups according to three time points of the study (2, 4, and 6 weeks) as control group, control group given 0.1 M phosphate-citrate, and diabetic group given 50 mg/kg streptozotocin intraperitoneally. The rats in all groups were decapitated at the end of 2, 4, and 6 weeks of the study. The kidneys of the rats were removed, and tissue samples were processed by using routine paraffin techniques. The samples were immunohistochemically stained using avidin-biotin-peroxidase method for ghrelin immunoreactivity. RESULTS: There were no differences of ghrelin immunoreactivity between the control groups. Ghrelin immunoreactivity was observed in both distal tubulus and collecting ducts in the diabetic groups, while it was detected only in distal tubules of the control groups. The intensity of ghrelin immunoreactivity was increased at 4 and 6 weeks of the study in the diabetic groups. CONCLUSION: Increased ghrelin immunoreactivity in the diabetic rat kidney tissues suggests that ghrelin may contribute to the pathophysiological mechanism of diabetic nephropathy.

Immunolocalization of TGF-beta2 in the rat thymus during late stages of prenatal development.

The aim of this study was to investigate the immunolocalization of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta2) in rat thymic stromal cells and thymocytes and investigate the roles of TGF-beta2 in thymopoiesis during the late stages of fetal development. Twelve adult pregnant female Wistar rats weighing 250-270 g were used in this study. The rats were killed by cervical dislocation on gestation days 16 (GD16), 18 (GD18) and 20 (GD20). Fetal thymus glands were prepared and examined by an immunohistochemical technique to reveal binding of an anti-TGF-beta2 rabbit polyclonal antibody. The thymic primordium was surrounded with a connective tissue capsule at GD16 and at this stage TGF-beta2 immunoreactivity was not observed. At GD18, the connective tissue capsule had formed septa which subdivided the tissue into lobules and at this stage TGF-beta2 immunolocalization was detected in the capsule and in thymocytes. Lobulation was more evident at GD20 and TGF-beta2 immunoreactivity of thymocytes was more extensive than on GD18. Results indicate that TGF-beta2 may play an important role in the organization or development of thymocytes in the late stages of thymopoiesis.