Study of the Protective Effect of N-acetylcysteine on Testicular Tissue and Spermatogenesis Cells in Streptozotocin-diabetic Adult Rats

Background and aim: Diabetes affects the testicles by oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of N-acetylcysteine ​​on the number of spermatogenesis cells in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 42 adult male Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups of 6. This study was carried out in two periods of 5 and 28 days. Thus, in the first period, the positive sham group and experimental groups received 1 ml streptozotocin solution in distilled water at 50 mg / kg for 5 days intraperitoneally. At the end of the sixth day, the blood glucose levels in rats reached 200 mg / dl. In the second period, control group without any injections, sham group received intraperitoneal injection of distilled water, positive control group without injection, negative sham group received 200 mg / kg of n-acetylcysteine ​​intraperitoneally for 28 days. Experimental group 1, 2 and 3, which included diabetic rats receiving 100, 200 and 400 mg / kg doses of N-acetylcysteine ​​intraperitoneally for 28 days, respectively. At the end of the experimental period, rats were under anesthetized anesthesia. The body weight of all animals was measured and the testicles were removed and examined after staining and staining by hematoxylin-eosin method. Results: Mean body weight, spermatogonia, spermatocyte, spermatid and leydig showed a significant decrease in the positive sham group compared to the control group. The mean number of spermatogonium and leydig cells in all experimental groups showed a significant increase compared to the positive sham group. The mean number of spermatid cells in experimental groups 2 and 3 was significantly higher than the positive sham group. The mean number of spermatocyte cells in the experimental groups 3 was significantly higher than the positive sham group (P ≤ 0.05). Diabetes also led to pathological changes in the seminiferous tubes in diabetic rats. This is while different amounts of N-acetylcysteine have improved this in experimental groups. Conclusion: The results showed that N-acetylcysteine protects the testicles against diabetes and improved the spermatogenesis process in streptozotocin induced diabetes.