Effect of platelet rich plasma versus melatonin on testicular injury induced by Busulfan in adult albino rats: a histological and immunohistochemical study

ABSTRACT

This study was done to estimate the testicular histological alterations induced by Busulfan (BUS) and compare the possible protective effects of melatonin (MT) and platelet rich plasma (PRP) in a rat model. Sixty-four male rats were dispersed into: control group, BUS group, melatonin group, and PRP group. Blood samples were processed for biochemical analysis. Tissue specimens were managed for light and electron microscopic studies. Immunohistochemical expression of vimentin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was performed. Busulfan induced severe testicular damage in all studied methodologies. It showed a statistically significant decrease in serum testosterone and elevation of MDA when compared to the control group. Abnormal testicular cytostructures suggesting defective spermatogenesis were observed: distorted seminiferous tubules, deformed spermatogenic cells, low germinal epithelium height, few mature spermatozoa, and also deformed barrier. Vimentin and PCNA expressions were reduced. Ultrastructurally, Sertoli cells and the blood testis barrier were deformed, spermatogenic cells were affected, and mature spermatozoa were few and showed abnormal structure. Both melatonin and PRP induced improvement in all the previous parameters and restoration of spermatogenesis as confirmed by improvement of Johnsen’s score from 2.6 ± .74 to 7.6 ± .92. In conclusion, melatonin and PRP have equal potential to ameliorate the testicular toxicity of BUS. Melatonin can provide a better noninvasive way to combat BUS induced testicular injury.

KEYWORDS:

• Busulfan
• infertility
• melatonin
• PRP
• testis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

E.M.A.: Conceptualization, Supervision. A.M.A: investigating, Writing – Original Draft, data curation. L.M.E.: Methodology, Visualization. M.A.S: Formal analysis, Writing – Review& Editing. All authors contributed to editing and critical review of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethical approval

The Animal Ethics Committee of Zagazig University’s Faculty of Medicine in Egypt, and the National Institutes of Health approved the guidelines that were followed for all experimental procedures (Approval number: ZU-IACUC/3/F/113/2020).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for profit.