Beneficial effects of taurine and carnosine in experimental ischemia/reperfusion injury in testis

Testicular torsion can be thought of as an ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury to the testis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of taurine (TAU) and carnosine (CAR), which are strong antioxidants, on experimental testicular I/R injury model. Male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups with eight animals in each. A sham operation was performed in group 1. To create testicular I/R, the left testis was torsioned 720A degrees for 2 h followed by 2 h of detorsion. Groups 2 (I/R), 3 (I/R + TAU) and 4 (I/R + CAR) received intraperitoneal saline, TAU (250 mg/kg) and CAR (250 mg/kg), respectively, 1 h before detorsion. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), diene conjugate (DC), protein carbonyls (PC), nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH), and vitamin C levels were measured in testis tissues as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities. Histopathological evaluation was also performed. TBARS, DC, and PC levels were significantly increased in I/R group. TAU and CAR did not alter TBARS levels, but decreased the elevated DC and PC levels. There were no changes in testicular NPSH levels, SOD, and GPx activities in all groups; however, vitamin C significantly decreased in I/R group. CAR treatment was found to increase vitamin C levels as compared to I/R group. Histopathologically, both I/R + TAU and I/R + CAR groups showed significant increase in testicular spermatogenesis in comparison to I/R group. Our results indicate that TAU and CAR reduces oxidative stress and may have a protective role in testicular I/R injury.