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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Remote Limb Ischemic Preconditioning: A Neuroprotective Technique in Rodents
Published on: June 2, 2015
Protective effect of remote ischemic postconditioning in rat testes after testicular torsion/detorsion
Zhaoyang Hu1, Quanhua Liu1, Zhibing Yan1
1Laboratory of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centre of Translational Medicine of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Background:
Testicular torsion/detorsion can lead to severe testicular damage. The organ-protective effect of remote ischemic postconditioning (RLIPost) against ischemia/reperfusion injury has been characterized; however, it remains unknown whether RLIPost has a testicular protective effect.
Objectives:
Here, we tested the hypothesis that RLIPost can protect the testes in a rat model of testicular torsion/detorsion in vivo.
Materials And Methods:
Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sham-operated, control, or remote liver and limb ischemic postconditioning-treated groups. Testicular torsion/detorsion was performed by 3 h of testicular torsion (720° clockwise unilateral spermatic cord torsion), followed by 3 h of detorsion. For liver and limb ischemic postconditioning, four cycles of 5 min of liver or limb ischemia with 5-min intermittent reperfusion stimuli were conducted at the onset of testicular reperfusion.
Results:
Liver and limb ischemic postconditioning significantly ameliorated ipsilateral and contralateral testicular swelling responses, preserved morphological integrity and spermatogenesis and inhibited testicular apoptosis. In addition, RLIPost enhanced the phosphorylation of AKT/ERK1/2/GSK-3β/STAT-3 in the ipsilateral testis while suppressing JNK activation in the ipsilateral and contralateral testes.
Discussion And Conclusion:
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the involvement of RLIPost in an animal model of testicular torsion/detorsion. We showed that RLIPost protects both ipsilateral and contralateral testes against testicular torsion/detorsion in vivo, via at least in part, the RISK and SAFE-mediated signaling pathways.
