An Examination of the Effects of Ethyl Pyruvate on the Rat Testes in an Experimental Diabetes Model

Abstract Diabetes Mellitus (DM), commonly known as diabetes, is an acute and chronic multisystemic disease causing disorders in male reproductive system. Elevated glucose methabolism is associated with the impairment mechanisms of steriodogenesis, spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and sexual erection. Maintenance of male fertility relies on diminished risk of testicel complication development. Ethyl Pyruvate (EP), a highly permeable ethyl ester, is simple derivative of pyruvic acid. EP has a potential scavenger ability against reactive oxygen species owing to its anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and cytoprotective functions. Therefore, we investigated the effects of EP on male rat with diabetes induced testicular damage by histochemical and biochemical analysis. In the DM group, we observed with loss of spermatogenetic cells and spermiums, and rupture between basal membrane and spermatogenetic cells, as well as increased connective tissue and basal membrane. Administration of EP reduced testicular histologocal findings compare to the DM group. We determined that the number of apoptotic cells (TUNEL and A. caspase 3 positive cell) significantly increased in the DM group. We observed a significant decrease in the number of apoptotic cells in the DM+EP group compared to DM group. Elevated Malondialdehyde level was obtained in DM group. Glutathione and glutathione peroxidase decreased significantly compared to the control group. The observations suggested that EP treatment alleviates the increased reactive oxygen species levels and inhibits the apoptotic pathway in the DM+EP group. Keywords Diabetes mellitus; Ethyl pyruvate; Rat; Testes