Guleser Goktas

Effect of melatonin and time of administration on irradiation-induced damage to rat testes

The effect of ionizing irradiation on testes and the protective effects of melatonin were investigated by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic methods. Eighty-two adult male Wistar rats were divided into 10 groups. The rats in the irradiated groups were exposed to a sublethal irradiation dose of 8 Gy, either to the total body or abdominopelvic region using a 60Co source at a focus of 80 cm away from the skin in the morning or evening together with vehicle (20% ethanol) or melatonin administered 24 h before (10 mg/kg), immediately before (20 mg/kg) and 24 h after irradiation (10 mg/kg), all ip. Caspace-3 immunoreactivity was increased in the irradiated group compared to control (P < 0.05). Melatonin-treated groups showed less apoptosis as indicated by a considerable decrease in caspace-3 immunoreactivity (P < 0.05). Electron microscopic examination showed that all spermatogenic cells, especially primary spermatocytes, displayed prominent degeneration in the groups submitted to total body and abdominopelvic irradiation. However, melatonin administration considerably inhibited these degenerative changes, especially in rats who received abdominopelvic irradiation. Total body and abdominopelvic irradiation induced identical apoptosis and testicular damage. Chronobiological assessment revealed that biologic rhythm does not alter the inductive effect of irradiation. These data indicate that melatonin protects against total body and abdominopelvic irradiation. Melatonin was more effective in the evening abdominopelvic irradiation and melatonin-treated group than in the total body irradiation and melatonin-treated group.

Retinal ganglion cell toxicity due to oxcarbazepine and valproic acid treatment in rat

PURPOSE To evaluate and to compare the possible toxic effects of oxcarbazepine (OXC) and valproic acid (VPA) on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in rat. METHODS Forty female Wistar rats (21-24 days old and weighted between 44.6 and 57.3g) were divided equally into 4 experimental groups which were applied tap water (group 1), 300mg/(kgday) VPA (group 2), 100mg/(kgday) OXC (group 3), and both VPA and OXC (group 4) via gavage for 90 days. Enucleation was performed for histopathologic analysis. RGCs were counted under the light microscopic examination. RESULTS RGC numbers in OXC and combined OXC-VPA groups were found to be lower than those of control group. On the other hand RGC number was comparable with those of control group in VPA group. CONCLUSION OXC seems to be toxic to RGCs at 100mg/kg dose when it is been given as a monotherapy or combined with VPA. Single VPA treatment has no effect on RGC number.

Effects of Hyperglycemia on the Developing Brain in Newborns

BACKGROUND Hyperglycemia is a common problem in preterm neonates and is associated with increased risk of mortality and severe morbidities such as brain damage. However, available data about the effects of severity of hyperglycemia on the developing brain in the early life is limited. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of moderate and severe hyperglycemia on the developing brain. METHOD Thirty newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups as control, moderate hyperglycemia (30% dextrose), and severe hyperglycemia (50% dextrose). Pups in the hyperglycemia groups were administered subcutaneous sterile dextrose solution at a dose of 4 mL/kg daily from the second day to the eleventh day of life. Blood glucose levels were measured every day in all study groups. Rat brain tissues were removed at the end of the study. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical (caspase-9, -8, and -3) examination and biochemical analysis including xanthine oxidase, total antioxidant status, total oxidant status, and malondialdehyde activities were performed. RESULTS Weight of the brain tissues in rats with hyperglycemia groups was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). Weight of the brain tissues in rats with moderate hyperglycemia was lower than that of the severe hyperglycemia (P < 0.05). In the histopathologic and immunochemical evaluation, severity of brain damage and apoptosis were significantly higher in the severe hyperglycemia group, especially at the level of the hippocampus (P < 0.05). Tissue malondialdehyde, xanthine oxidase levels, and total oxidant status were significantly increased in the severe hyperglycemia group, whereas total antioxidant status was significantly decreased in the severe hyperglycemia group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Brain damaging effects of severe hyperglycemia were observed in the developing brains of the rat pups. It might be inferred that severe hyperglycemia can damage the developing brain especially in preterm infants.

Protective effects of resveratrol against di-n buthyl phthalate induced toxicity in ductus epididymis and ductus deferens in rats

Objective: This study aimed to observe the possible protective effects of resveratrol (RSV) against damage induced by di-n-butylphthalate (DBP), on the ductus epididymis and deferens in rats. Materials and Methods: Six groups of rats were used in the experiment: Group 1: Control group; Group 2: Solvent (carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 10ml/kg); Group 3: 500 mg/kg/day DBP; Group 4: 500 mg/kg/day DBP+20 mg/kg/day RSV; Group 5: 1000 mg/kg/day DBP; Group 6: 1000mg/kg/day DBP + 20 mg/kg/day RSV. Groups were treated by gavage for 30 days. Immunohistochemical, electronmicroscopic and histomorphometric examinations were carried out in the epididymis and deferens. Results: In the ductus epididymis and deferens mitochondrial crystolysis, exfoliation of the stereocilia and openings in lateral surface increased with DBP dosage, but these structures were recovered with RSV. DBP reduced the epithelial height of epididymis and vas deferens. Lumen dilatation was observed in both tissues. These disorders may lead to dysfunction of epithelial absorption. In the TUNEL examinations in both tissues, there were no apoptotic cells or apoptotic bodies. Conclusion: In conclusion, DBP administration caused structural degeneration in the epididymis and deferens, parallel to dose evaluation and RSV can reverse these changes with its protective effects.

The effect of di-n-butyl phthalate on testis and the potential protective effects of resveratrol

This study aimed to observe the possible protective effects of resveratrol (RSV) against the damage of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) on the testis. The study was conducted in 6 groups of rats with 6 animals in each group aged 20 days. The groups include group 1: control group; group 2: solvent (carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), 10 ml/kg); group 3: 500 mg/kg/day DBP; group 4: 500 mg/kg/day DBP + 20 mg/kg/day RSV; group 5: 1000 mg/kg/day DBP; and group 6: 1000 mg/kg/day DBP + 20 mg/kg/day RSV. Groups were treated by gavage for 30 days. Indirect immunohistochemical staining was performed with c-kit, AT1, and ER-α antibodies. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate–biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method was used for apoptosis. It was found in the DBP-applied groups the C-kit immunostaining, which is parallel to increasing dose, decreased in comparison with the control. C-kit reactivity was similar to that of the control group in the group applied with 500 mg/kg/day + RSV; however, the reactivity was not same in the 1000 mg/kg/day DBP-applied group. It was observed that the reactivity of AT1 increased in the DBP-applied groups. RSV reversed these changes with its protective effects. While there was not much difference between the groups in terms of estrogen receptor reactivity, it was observed that the high dose of DBP reduced the level of estrogen receptor and the resveratrol was not at enough levels in all doses. In TUNEL analysis, high doses of DBP increased the apoptosis in all types of cells; nevertheless, the resveratrol application decreased the apoptosis in the low-level DBP dose. In the statistical analysis, while the length of epithelium and the diameter of seminiferous tubules decreased for all the other groups, it reverted to its original state in the RSV-applied groups. In conclusion, DBP (with increasing dose) administration caused cycle and hormonal changes in testis, resveratrol were recovered the cyclic changes but in hormonal changes, RSV is efficient too but inadequate.

Examining the protective effects of acetyl l-carnitine on cisplatin-induced uterine tube toxicity

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cisplatin and the protective role of acetyl l-carnitine against uterine tube toxicity. Twenty-four female Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups: control group was injected with saline (control); group 2 was injected with acetyl l-carnitine; group 3 was injected with cisplatin; and group 4 was pre-treated with acetyl l-carnitine before cisplatin intraperitoneal injection. According to our results, a significant weight loss was observed in rats from group 3. The thickness of the wall and epithelium of uterine tube were decreased in group 3 rats. We elaborate the protein expression of caspase in epithelium and stroma by IHC. We found that the expression of caspase and the number of TUNEL-positive cells were increased in group 3 rats compared to the other groups. In our study, we showed the protective role of acetyl l-carnitine against uterine tube toxicity caused by cisplatin.

Ciliary body toxicities of systemic oxcarbazepine and valproic acid treatments: electron microscopic study.

Abstract Ciliary body is responsible for humour aqueous production in posterior chamber. Valproic acid (VPA) has been widely used for the treatment of epilepsy and other neuropsychiatric diseases such as bipolar disease and major depression. Oxcarbazepine (OXC) is a new anti-epileptic agent that has been used recently for childhood epilepsies such as VPA. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of VPA and OXC treatments used as antiepileptic in ciliary body by electron microscopy. In our study, 40 Wistar rats (21 days old) were divided equally into four groups which were applied saline (group 1), VPA (group 2), OXC (group 3) and VPA + OXC (group 4). The as-prepared ocular tissues were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique in scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM-TEM) (Carl Zeiss EVO LS10). The results confirmed that VPA caused dense ciliary body degeneration. Additionally, ciliary body degeneration in group 4 was supposed to be due to VPA treatment. Ciliary body damage and secondary outcomes should be considered in patients with long-term VPA therapy.

Hipertermide Tuba Uterina Yapısı

Amac: Vucut sicakligi 41°C ya da daha ust bir degere yukseldiginde hipertermi olusur ve bu isi denetim duzeneklerinin bozulmasina yol acabilir. Tuba uterinada sicakligin artmasi silli hucrelerin apoptozisine, epitel hucrelerinde oksidatif stres gelisimine ve erken embriyonik olumlere neden olur. Superoksit dismutaz (SOD) serbest oksijen radikallerini ortadan kaldirarak oksidatif stresi engelleyebilen ve apoptotik sureci geri dondurebilecegi dusunulen bir antioksidandir. Bu calismada; hipertermi ile olusturulan isi stresinin ve stres oncesinde kullanilan SOD’ un, tuba uterina uzerindeki koruyucu etkilerinin apoptotik ve oksidatif stres belirtecleri kullanilarak immunohistokimyasal olarak belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Yontemler: Calismada kullanilan 18 adet Wistar-albino cinsi disi sicanlar, her grupta 6 denek olacak sekilde 3 gruba ayrilmistir. Kontrol grubundaki denekler, sicakligi 22° C’ye ayarlanmis havuzda 20 dakika sure ile tutulmus ve 24 saat sonra kesilmis, ikinci ve ucuncu gruptaki denekler ise; sicakligi 42°C’ ye ayarlanmis havuzda 20 dakika bekletilerek sirasiyla 30. dakika ve 24. saatte kesilerek tuba uterina dokulari alinmistir. Hipertermi uygulamasi yapilan gruplara, uygulamadan 1 saat once NaCl+Katalaz+SOD enjeksiyonu yapilmistir. Alinan dokulara, hiperterminin neden oldugu apoptozisi belirlemek icin Kaspaz-3, Kaspaz-8 ile Kaspaz-9 protein yapilarina etkisinin belirlenebilmesi amaciyla HSP-70 primer antikorlariyla indirekt immunohistokimyasal yontem uygulanmistir. Bulgular: Yapilan degerlendirmelerde; Kaspaz-9 tutulumunun daha belirgin oldugu saptanmistir. Immunoreaktivitenin ozellikle epitelde, hucre sitoplazmasinda ve silyalarda, hipertermi uygulamasina kosut arttigi izlenmistir. Kaspaz-3 tutulumunun hipertermi ile cok belirgin artmadigi saptanmistir. Tum kaspazlar icin SOD uygulamasinin sureye kosut tutulumu azalttigi gozlenmistir. HSP-70 tutulumunun genelde epitel hucrelerinde sitoplazmik duzeyde ve orta dereceli oldugu, SOD uygulamasi ile tutulumun sureye kosut arttigi belirlenmistir. Sonuc: Sonuc olarak apoptotik programin merkezi bilesenleri olan kaspazlarin aktivasyonuyla, hiperterminin ozellikle epitel hucrelerinde dis yolaktan apoptozisi baslattigi yargisina varilmistir. Ancak SOD uygulamasinin sureye kosut apoptozisi baskiladigi, bunun da artan HSP-70’in koruyucu etkisi araciligiyla gerceklesmis olabilecegi sonucuna varilmistir.

Investigation of Age-Related Changes on Eye by Using Histochemical and Ultrastructural Methods

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate structural changes in the cornea and retina of rats during the critical periods of development in parallel with aging from birth onwards through the histochemical methods and to make comparative examination at the ultrastructural level. Methods: In our study the changes in the cornea and retina in parallel with aging were examined through PASAlsian blue staining method by taking the eyes of rats on the 1 st and 22 nd day, and in the 10th week and 22 nd month. Measurements made were evaluated statistically. Also the ultrastructure of the cornea was illustrated at electron microscopy level. Results: In the histochemical stainings, an increase was determined in the descement membrane, stroma, epithelial thickness and general cornea thickness in parallel with aging. An opening in the cornea stroma and fluctuant extention in the collagen fibres in parallel with aging were distinguished. In the examinations made in the retina,