Investigation of the effects of ethyl pyruvate in rat model of testicular torsion-detorsion

In this study, the effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) in rat model of testicular ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) (torsion-detorsion) injury was investigated. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: Sham (n=7), I/R+Saline (n=7), I/R+EP (n=7) and EP+I/R (n=7). In rats that underwent I/R, left testes (ipsilateral) were rotated 720 degree for 1 hour (ischemia), and then rotated back (detorsion) for 4 hours (reperfusion). To rats in EP+I/R and I/R+EP groups, EP (50 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected 30 minute before ischemia or 30 minute after reperfusion, respectively. At the end of reperfusion, right and left testes of all rats were excised and evaluated by biochemical and histological analyses. In terms of malonedialdehyde (MDA) levels, there was not any significant difference among left (ipsilateral) testes (p>0.05), whereas there was significant difference among right (contralateral) testes (p<0.05). Left testes I/R injury elevated MDA levels in right testes (p<0.05). However, administration of EP did not affect MDA levels in both right and left testes (p>0.05). Histological scoring (Johnsen?s scoring) showed that left testes exposed to I/R caused damage in both left (ipsilateral) and right (contralateral) testicular tissues (p<0.001). Administration of EP before ischemia caused significant decrease in damage in left testes (p<0.001); however, no significant change in right testes was observed (p>0.05). In conclusion, EP decreases testicular tissue injury against I/R thanks to its protective effect in rats.