The effect of poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase inhibitors on biochemical changes in testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury

PURPOSE: Poly (adenosine diphosphate ADP]-ribose) polymerase inhibitors have been used successfully to decrease ischemia-reperfusion injury in several organ systems. We evaluated the efficacy of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors on biochemical changes in testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats were divided into 9 groups of 6 each. One group served to determine baseline values of biochemical parameters, 1 that underwent sham operation served as a control, 1 underwent 2 hours of testicular torsion and 4 hours of detorsion, 2 received pretreatment with vehicle (saline or dimethyl sulfoxide) before detorsion and 4 received pretreatment with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor nicotinamide, 3-aminobenzamide, 1,5-dihydroxyisoquinoline or 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide before detorsion. Lipid peroxidation products, nitric oxide content and myeloperoxidase activity, an indicator of neutrophil accumulation, were assessed in testicular and renal tissues. RESULTS: Testicular torsion-detorsion caused a significant increase in lipid peroxidation products, nitric oxide content and myeloperoxidase activity in ipsilateral testes (p <0.01) but not in the contralateral testes or kidneys. Animals treated with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors had a significant decrease in these biochemical parameters compared with vehicle treated animals (p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data emphasize that poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase may have a role in testicular damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion and the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase may be a novel approach to therapy for ischemia-reperfusion injury of the testis.