BACKGROUND: Disruption of testicular function and arrest of
spermatogenesis are the consequence of cryptorchidism in
response to elevated temperature. OBJECTIVES:This investigation
was set to clarify the possible ghrelin efficacy in altering some
sperm quality parameters upon experimentally-induced cryptorchidism.
METHODS: Thirty male adult rats were scheduled for the
study and were divided into three groups: group 1 was served as
control-saline (CS), group 2 was designed as cryptorchidism-saline
(CrS), and group 3 was defined as cryptorchidism-ghrelin (CrG).
After surgically inducing cryptorchidism in groups 2 and 3, the
researchers gave 10 nmol of ghrelin to CrG rats for 7 consecutive
days. Five animals in each group were equally killed on days 3 and
7 after operation and their testes were taken for sperm evaluation.
RESULTS: Testicular weight, sperm forward progressive motility
(FPM), functional membrane integrity (assessed by HOS-test), and
sperm concentration displayed slight changes after heating on day
3. However, abdominal position of the testes for 7 days caused a
significant reduction in the percentages of HOS-positive cells
(p<0.0001), FPM (p<0.0001), and sperm concentration (p<0.01).
Although a 30% decrease occurred in the testicular weight at this
point, however, this reduction was not statistically significant.
Interestingly, HOS-test and FPM percentages were significantly
higher in the ghrelin-exposed animals compared to the CrS group
on day 7 (p<0.05). However, ghrelin treatment had not considerable
influence on sperm parameters by day 3. Moreover, sperm
concentration and testicular weight did not exhibit any changes
either on day 3 or at day 7 upon ghrelin injection (p>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Indeed, this function of ghrelin could be attributed
to its antioxidant properties and it may be implicated as a potential
agent in attenuation of impaired spermatogenesis after cryptorchidism.