Omega-3 fatty acid rescues ischaemia/perfusion-induced testicular and sperm damage via modulation of lactate transport and xanthine oxidase/uric acid signaling

This study aimed to explore the potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects of omega 3 fatty acid (omega-3) in a rat model of testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D). Under ketamine/xylazine anaesthesia, agematched adult male Wistar rats of comparable weight underwent sham-operation or testicular torsion by fixing the left testis rotated at 720 degrees for two and half hours. After detorsion, animals were treated with either olive oil as vehicle or omega-3 subcutaneously for three days. On post-operative day 3, rats were culled and the ipsilateral and contralateral testes, as well as obtained blood samples, were analyzed. Our findings revealed that T/D led to significant poor weight gain, distorted gross anatomy, and cytoarchitecture of the testes, low sperm quality, redox imbalance, and inflammation of the ipsilateral and contralateral testes. This was accompanied by reduced circulatory testosterone, a decline in testicular lactate metabolism and transport, upregulation of xanthine oxidase/uric acid signaling, and increased testicular DNA fragmentation. Administration of omega-3 attenuated T/Dinduced damage to the testes and sperm cells with a significant rise in the level of serum testosterone. Enhancement of lactate transport and down-regulation of xanthine oxidase/uric acid signaling by omega-3 may be beneficial in protecting against T/D-related oxido-inflammatory damage and male infertility.