Effect of thymoquinone on hippocampal spexin levels in cisplatin-induced rats

Neurotoxicity is a known side effect of the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin (CIS). Thymoquinone (THQ) is a natural compound with strong neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. The objective of this study is to ascertain the impact of CIS on histopathological, biochemical, and spexin (SPX) immunoreactivity in the hippocampus, and to determine whether THQ has a protective role against these effects.Twenty-eight male Sprague - Dawley rats (8-10 weeks old,200 ± 20 g) were used in the study and randomly divided into four groups (<i>n</i> = 7): control (no administration), CIS (7 mg/kg on the first day), CIS+THQ (7 mg/kg CIS on the first day + 10 mg/kg/day THQ), and THQ (10 mg/kg/day THQ). On the 15th day, the rats were sacrificed. Hippocampus tissue samples were used for biochemical, histological, and immunohistochemical analyses. CISadministration significantly increased interleukin-6 (IL-6), malondialdehyde(MDA), histopathological changes, and SPX immunoreactivity in the hippocampus.THQ treatment was found to significantly reduce the adverse effects of.THQ treatment demonstrated neuroprotective effects againstCIS-induced damage in the hippocampus by modulating antioxidant activity, inflammatory response, and SPX immunoreactivity. We suggest that SPX, whose role and mechanism of action in cognitive, physiological, and pathological processes remains unclear, plays an active role in hippocampus-related functions. Further and more comprehensive studies on SPX are warranted.