Gliclazide alone or in combination with atorvastatin ameliorated reproductive damage in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic male rats

• Published in: Saudi pharmaceutical journal Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 422 - 431
• Main Authors: Öztaş, Ezgi, Yılmaz, Tugba Ekiz, Güzel, Elif, Sezer, Zehra, Okyar, Alper, Özhan, Gül
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Saudi Arabia Elsevier B.V 01-03-2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Atorvastatin; Gliclazide; Immunohistochemistry; Male reproductive system; Streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rat; Ultrastructure; Immunohistochemistry; Gliclazide; Atorvastatin; Male reproductive system; Ultrastructure; Streptozotocin induced type 2 diabetic rat
• ISSN: 1319-0164; 2213-7475
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2019.01.003

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•High-fat diet/STZ-induced T2DM caused severe damage in rat male reproductive system.•ATV treatment slightly improved the reproductive functions.•GLZ treatment strongly ameliorated spermatogenesis as well as testicular structure.•ATV/GLZ combination treatment improved sperm morphology and testes structure.
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is one of the most serious challenges of the 21th century with life-threatening complications and excessive health care costs. In diabetic patients, the main goal in T2DM treatment is the regulation of both blood glucose and lipid levels. For that, Gliclazide (GLZ), an oral antidiabetic, and Atorvastatin (ATV), a lipid lowering agent, are widely used drugs as combination. Diabetes has been reported severe impacts on male reproductive system; however, data obtained about ATV and GLZ treatment alone or in combination are conflicted or insufficient. Herein the effects of ATV and GLZ on male reproductive system in type 2 diabetic male rats have been investigated in the present study.
T2DM was induced by high-fat diet and single injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (35 mg/kg) in young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The diabetic rats were given ATV (10 mg/kg), GLZ (10 mg/kg) and ATV/GLZ (1:1, 10 mg/kg) combination by oral gavage for 28 days. The hormone levels were determined in the cardiac blood samples; and the histopathological and ultrastructural analyses were conducted in the testicular tissues and epididymal sperms.
It was observed that diabetes had severe effects on testicular tissue and spermatogenesis. ATV treatment did not affect sperm count and testes structure (p > 0.05), however ameliorated sperm morphology (p < 0.05). GLZ treatment increased sperm count, and improved sperm morphology, testes structure and spermatogenesis (p < 0.05). ATV/GLZ combination treatment enhanced sperm morphology and improved testicular structure (p < 0.05) while did not affect sperm count (p > 0.05).
GLZ treatment regenerated testicular damage and sperm parameters whether alone or in combination with ATV in diabetic rats without affecting hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.