Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Mitigates Testicular Injury and Reduces Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Apoptosis in Rats with Testicular Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury

TL;DR

PQQ helps reduce testicular damage in rats caused by torsion and detorsion by lowering oxidative stress and improving mitochondrial function.

Contribution

This study demonstrates PQQ's protective effects against testicular ischemia–reperfusion injury in rats.

Findings

PQQ preserved testicular structure and improved sperm counts in rats with T/D injury.

PQQ reduced oxidative stress and restored mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

PQQ suppressed apoptosis in testicular tissue following T/D.

Abstract

Testicular torsion–detorsion (T/D) induces ischemia–reperfusion injury, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and spermatogenic impairment. Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a redox cofactor with mitochondrial-protective, antioxidant, and anti-apoptotic properties, was evaluated for its therapeutic potential in a rat T/D model. Young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent 720° spermatic cord rotation for 2 h followed by detorsion and were assigned to T/D or T/D + PQQ groups, with sham-operated controls run in parallel. PQQ (400 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally once daily for 4 weeks. T/D resulted in severe disruption of testicular architecture, disorganization of seminiferous epithelium, reduced sperm count and testis-to-body weight ratio, increased hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and malondialdehyde, decreased superoxide dismutase 2, impaired oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), and enhanced apoptosis. Notably, PQQ treatment significantly preserved testicular structure, improved sperm counts, reduced oxidative stress, restored OXPHOS, and suppressed apoptosis (all p < 0.05. T/D + PQQ vs. T/D). These findings indicate that PQQ protects against T/D-induced testicular injury. The underlying mechanisms may involve the attenuation of oxidative stress, the preservation of mitochondrial function, and the limitation of apoptosis, supporting its potential as a therapeutic strategy for testicular IRI.

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