The effect of vitamin D on expression of TGF ß1 in ovary.

The transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) is thought to have important roles in several stages of folliculogenesis. Vitamin D is effective in cell proliferation, differentition and on estrogen biosynthesis. The aim of the present study was to determine the respective role of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on expression of TGF-ß1 in developing rat ovaries. 24 (one-mounth-old n = 12 and adult n = 12) female Wistar rats were enrolled in this study. All animals were divided into 4 groups. Group I and II that consist of one-month-old (n = 6) and adult rats (n = 6) respectively served as control groups. Intramuscular vitamin D3 ( 0,05 µgr/kg/every other day) was injected for 8 weeks to group III and IV which consist of one-mounth-old and adult rats respectively. After last injection, ovaries of animals were removed and processed for immunohistochemistry assay. No remarkable differences in staining intensity and localization for TGF-ß1 were observed in group I and group III. TGF immunostaining was also predominantly found in oocytes. In granulosa cells, TGF-ß1 immunoreactivity was negative. TGF-ß1 immunostaining were observed both in nuclei and cytoplasm of granulosa cells in group II. But in group IV granulosa cells and oocytes were negative for TGF-ß1. We found that vitamin D administration resulted in a decrease in TGF-ß1 levels in the adult rats, but, TGF-ß1 expression did not significantly decrease in the newborn rats. However, in multiple linear regression analysis, TGF-ß1 expressions were independently associated with vitamin D administration. It is observed that Vitamin D attenuated TGF-ß1 expression. The results of this study suggest that vitamin D may play role in folliculogenesis via TGF-ß1.

Capsaicin effectively prevents apoptosis in the contralateral testis after ipsilateral testicular torsion.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of afferent nerve blockage by administration of capsaicin on apoptotic changes in the contralateral testis in rats undergoing ipsilateral testicular torsion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty male albino rats were randomly divided into four groups. In groups 1 and 2, rats underwent a sham operation and testicular torsion, respectively, after the intraperitoneal administration of 0.9% NaCl. Similarly, in groups 3 and 4 the rats underwent a sham operation and testicular torsion, respectively, after an intraperitoneal capsaicin injection. The testes were untwisted 24 h later and the contralateral testes harvested. Apoptosis was assessed in paraffin-embedded sections stained for nuclear DNA fragmentation. Fifteen cells were counted in each seminiferous tubule and the apoptotic cells recorded. A score was calculated for each group and the results compared using the Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance and Mann Whitney U-tests, with P<0.05 considered to be significant. RESULTS: The mean apoptotic score of group 2 was significantly higher than that of the other groups. There was no difference between the apoptotic scores of groups 1 and 3, 1 and 4, and 3 and 4. CONCLUSION: Capsaicin effectively prevented apoptosis in the contralateral testes of rats that had undergone testicular torsion.