RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of tea polyphenols (TP) on the apoptosis of germ cells in rats with experimental varicocele. METHODS: Thirty-two adolescent male Wistar rats were randomly and equally divided into groups A (sham-operation), B (high-dose TP), C (low-dose TP), and D (experimental left varicocele). Experimental varicocele was induced by partial ligation of the left renal vein in the latter three groups of rats. The animals in groups A and D were fed with normal saline, while those in B and C with TP at 40 and 10 mg per kg per d, respectively, all for 4 weeks. Then, all the rats were sacrificed and the left testes harvested for determination of the expression of HIF-1, Bcl-2, Bax, CytC, and caspase-3 by immunohistochemistry and measurement of the apoptosis index (AI) of spermatogenic cells. RESULTS: The expression of Bcl-2 was higher in groups B and C than in D but lower than in A (P < 0.05), and lower in C than in B (P < 0.05). However, the expressions of HIF-1, Bax, CytC, and caspase-3 were lower in groups B and C than in D but higher than in A (P < 0.05), and higher in C than in B (P < 0.05). The AI of spermatogenic cells was the lowest in group A, higher in D than in the other groups but lower in B than in C (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: TP can reduce the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in a dose-dependent manner in varicocele rats.