Chronic administration of thiamine pyrophosphate decreases age-related histological atrophic testicular changes and improves sexual behavior in male Wistar rats
H.L. Hernández-Montiel1, C.M. Vásquez López1, J.G. González-Loyola1, G.C. Vega-Anaya1, M.E. Villagrán-Herrera1, M.A. Gallegos-Corona1, C. Saldaña1, M. Ramos Gómez2, P. García Horshman3, P. García Solís1, J.C. Solís-S1, M.L. Robles-Osorio1, J. Ávila Morales1, A. Varela-Echavarría3 and R. Paredes Guerrero3
1Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, 2Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro and 3Instituto de Neurobiología, UNAM, Querétaro, México
Offprint requests to: Dr. Hebert Luis Hernández Montiel, Laboratorio de Neurobiología y Bioingeniería Celular, Clínica del Sistema Nervioso, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Calle Clavel # 200, Col. Prados de la Capilla, Santiago de Querétaro, México, C. P. 76170. e-mail: hebert@uaq.mx
Summary. Aging is a multifactorial universal process and constitutes the most important risk factor for chronic-degenerative diseases. Although it is a natural process, pathological aging arises when these changes occur quickly and the body is not able to adapt. This is often associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inflammation, and a decrease in the endogenous antioxidant systems, constituting a physiopathological state commonly found in chronic-degenerative diseases. At the testicular level, aging is associated with tissue atrophy, decreased steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis, and sexual behavior disorders. This situation, in addition to the elevated generation of ROS in the testicular steroidogenesis, provides a critical cellular environment causing oxidative damage at diverse cellular levels. To assess the effects of a reduction in the levels of ROS, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) was chronically administered in senile Wistar rats. TPP causes an activation of intermediate metabolism routes, enhancing cellular respiration and decreasing the generation of ROS. Our results show an overall decrease of atrophic histological changes linked to aging, with higher levels of serum testosterone, sexual activity, and an increase in the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes in TPP-treated animals. These results suggest that TPP chronic administration decreases the progression of age-related atrophic changes by improving the intermediate metabolism, and by increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes. Histol Histopathol 29, 785-795 (2014)
Key words: Aging, Free radicals, Antioxidant, Thiamine pyrophosphate
DOI: 10.14670/HH-29.785