Effects of N-Acetylcysteine on FAS Gene Expression Level in Testicular Tissue of Acrylamide-Treated Adult Rats

Background & Objectives: Acrylamide (ACR) is a chemical with toxic effects on various body tissues. The present study was conducted to investigate the antioxidant effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the level of testicular apoptosis in acrylamide-treated adult rats. Material & Methods: Thirty-six adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into ۶ equal groups. The intact control group was without treatment, the positive control group (PC) received ۵۰ mg/kg ACR by oral gavage, the negative control group (NC) received ۴۰ mg/kg NAC intraperitoneally, the animals in experimental groups of ۱ (EXP۱), ۲ (EXP۲) and ۳ (EXP۳) received ۱۰, ۲۰ and ۴۰ mg/kg NAC intraperitoneally, respectively, and then all groups received ۵۰ mg/kg acrylamide by oral gavage. The treatment period in all groups was ۲۸ days. At the end of the study, FAS mRNA expression level was measured by real-time PCR and testicular tissue was evaluated histopathologically. Results: The PC group showed a significant increase in FAS gene expression level (p<۰.۰۵) and spermatogenic degradation compared to the intact control and NC groups. The EXP۱ and EXP۲ groups showed decrease in FAS gene expression level (p˃۰.۰۵) and spermatogenesis improvement in a dose-dependent manner while the EXP۳ group exhibited a significant decrease in FAS gene expression level (p˂۰.۰۵) and complete spermatogenesis recovery compared to the PC group. Conclusion: The findings indicate that ACR increases apoptosis and destroys spermatogenesis by increasing FAS gene expression levels. In contrast, at the maximum dose (۴۰ mg/kg), NAC could inhibit ACR-induced apoptosis by reducing FAS gene expression and improves spermatogenesis in rats.

Keywords:

Apoptosis , N-acetylcysteine , Acrylamide , Testis , Rat