Effects of strontium fructose 1,6-diphosphate on expression of apoptosis-related genes and oxidative stress in testes of diabetic rats

Objective:   To investigate the effects of strontium fructose 1,6-diphosphate (FDP-Sr) on testicular dysfunction induced by diabetes.
Methods:   Diabetes was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, i.p.). After 28 days, therapy with three doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg per day, p.o.) of FDP-Sr was carried out for another 4 weeks.
Results:   The rats exhibited morphological lesions of testes and significant decreases in serum testosterone levels after 2 months of diabetes. Testicular tissues of diabetic rats showed significantly increased malondialdehyde levels and declined glutathione peroxidase activity. Meanwhile, augmented DNA fragmentation was observed, along with downregulated Bcl-2 and upregulated Bax expressions at both mRNA and protein levels. FDP-Sr showed significant antioxidant effects in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, and significantly relieved apoptosis and the decline of serum testosterone caused by diabetes.
Conclusions:   Testicular injury and apoptosis induced by diabetes are partially attributed to the augmented oxidative stress in testicular tissue. FDP-Sr indirectly alleviates these pathologic alterations by suppressing the generation of reactive oxygen species.