Effects Of Tea Polyphenols On Germ Cell Apoptosis In Rats With Experimental Varicocele

Objective:To study the effect of tea polyphenols on germ cell apoptosis and possible protection to spermatogenic function. in rats with experimental varicocele. Methods:Thirty-two adolescent male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham-operated group(GroupⅠ), experimental left varicocele group(GroupⅡ)(They were both fed with normal saline four weeks later) and two experimental varicocele groups treated with tea polyphenols 10mg/kg·d-1(TP low dose group, GroupⅢ) and 40 mg/kg·d-1(TP high dose group, GroupⅣ)[24][27],respectively four weeks later. Experim ental varicocele was induced by partial ligation of the left renal vein(Turner method) in rats. After four weeks, all rats were sacrificed and harvested for left testes to evalu ate the expression of HIF-1,Bcl-2, bax,Cyt C and caspase-3 by immunohisto chemistry.The apoptotic index(AI) was calculated as the number of apoptotic cells.. Results:The expression of Bcl-2 in the tea polyphenol groups was higher than that of the model group, and it was lower than that of the sham operation group,(P<0.05); The expression of Bcl-2 in the TP low dose group was lower than that of the TP high dose group,(P<0.05). The expression of HIF-1, Bax, Cyt C and caspase-3 of the tea polyphenol groups was lower than that of the model group, and it was higher than that of the sham operation group,(P<0.05); The expression of HIF-1, Bax, Cyt C and caspase-3 of the TP low dose group was higher than that of the TP high dose group,(P<0.05). The AI measurement in the model group was higher than other groups while the TP high dose group was lower than TP low dose group,(P<0.05). Conclusions:These results show that tea polyphenols can reduce the germ cell apoptosis dose-dependently, and suggest it may has a protective role in varicocele-induced testicular dysfunction.