Protective effect of astaxanthin on testis torsion/detorsion injury through modulation of autophagy.

A significant clinical condition known as testicular torsion leads to permanent ischemic damage to the testicular tissue and consequent loss of function in the testicles. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the protective effects of Astaxanthin (ASTX) on testicular damage in rats with testicular torsion/detorsion in the light of biochemical and histopathological data. Spraque Dawley rats of 21 were randomly divided into three groups; sham, testicular torsion/detorsion (TTD) and astaxanthin + testicular torsion/detorsion (ASTX + TTD). TTD and ASTX + TTD groups underwent testicular torsion for 2 hours and then detorsion for 4 hours. Rats in the ASTX + TTD group were given 1 mg/kg/day astaxanthin by oral gavage for 7 days before torsion. Following the detorsion process, oxidative stress parameters and histopathological changes in testicular tissue were evaluated. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels were significantly decreased in the ASTX group compared to the TTD group, while superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were increased (p < 0.05). Moreover, histopathological changes were significantly reduced in the group given ASTX (p < 0.0001). It was determined that ASTX administration increased Beclin-1 immunoreactivity in ischemic testicular tissue, while decreasing caspase-3 immunoreactivity (p < 0.0001). Our study is the first to investigate the antiautophagic and antiapoptotic properties of astaxanthin after testicular torsion/detorsion based on the close relationship of Beclin-1 and caspase-3 in ischemic tissues. Our results clearly demonstrate the protective effects of ASTX against ischemic damage in testicular tissue. In ischemic testicular tissue, ASTX contributes to the survival of cells by inducing autophagy and inhibiting the apoptosis.