Effects of Ghrelin on Testicular Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Injury

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a possible cause of testicular damage and infertility after testicular torsion and detorsion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of ghrelin on testicular ischemia-reperfusion damage. A total of 30 adult male rats were selected for the study and divided randomly into 3 groups, each containing 10 rats. Animals in the testicular torsion and ghrelin treated groups were subjected to unilateral 720° counterclockwise testicular torsion for 1 hour, and then reperfusion was allowed after detorsion for 7 and 30 days. The ghrelin-treated group and the other two groups received intraperitoneally 40 nmol of ghrelin and physiological saline 15 min before detorsion, respectively. The animals were sacrificed at the end of reperfusion times, and their testes were taken for later histopathological examination. The seminiferous tubules diameter, germinal epithelium height, as well as volume densities in testicular torsion / detorsion plus saline group, were significantly lesser versus control group, which clearly indicates an ischemia-reperfusion injury. Ghrelin treatment resulted in a partial increment in examined histological parameters on day 30 after reperfusion. Current results showed that ghrelin ameliorates the testicular ischemia-reperfusion damage.