Protective Effect of Fasudil on Testicular Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Cem Kaya,1 Alparslan Kapisiz,1 Sibel Eryilmaz,1 Ramazan Karabulut,1 Zafer Turkyilmaz,1 Mehmet Arda Inan,2 Gizem Yaz Aydin,3 Kaan Sonmez1 1Departments of Pediatric Surgery, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey; 2Pathology, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey; 3Biochemistry, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Yenimahalle, Ankara, TurkeyCorrespondence: Ramazan Karabulut, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Emniyet Mahallesi, Mevlana Bulvarı, No. 29, Yenimahalle, Ankara, 06500, Turkey, Tel +90 312 2026210, Fax +90 312 2230528, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury to the testis can lead to organ damage, infertility, and subfertility. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of fasudil on this devastating condition.Methods: Thirty male Long-Evans rats were divided into five groups: a control group (no torsion), rats administered fasudil (30 mg/kg, no torsion), rats subject to ischemia with no treatment (I) (I/R injury), injured rats that received treatment 1 (T1) (I/R with 30 mg/kg fasudil before detorsion), and injured rats that received treatment 2 (T2) (I/R with 30 mg/kg fasudil after detorsion). Serum levels of TNF-ɑ and IL-6, along with tissue levels of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), caspase-3, and Johnsen Tubular Biopsy Score (JTBS), were measured.Results: Group I exhibited significantly higher levels of MDA and caspase-3 than all other groups except T2 (p ˂ 0.05). Although the difference was not statistically significant, Group T2 exhibited lower MDA and caspase-3 levels than Group I (p ˃ 0.05). Additionally, Group I displayed significantly higher TNF-ɑ and IL-6 levels, and lower GSH and JTBS values, than the other groups (p ˂ 0.05).Conclusion: Our findings indicate that fasudil protects the testis from I/R injury, particularly when administered early.Keywords: fasudil, testis, ischemia/reperfusion