This study was carried out to investigate the effect of the semen freeze–thawing process on the functionality and molecular structure of ram spermatozoa. The temperature of pooled and diluted semen at 38°C (group 1, control) was lowered to 5°C (group 2), and it was subjected to glycerolisation–equilibration (group 3), frozen and thawed (group 4). Compared to the control, deterioration in spermatological parameters and significant increases in lipid peroxidation and global DNA methylation levels were observed in groups 3 and 4. When compared with the control, significant downregulation in the levels of miR-485 of group 2, miR-29a of group 3 and let-7a, miR-485 and miR-29a of group 4, and significant upregulation in the levels of miR-107 of group 3 and miR-127 of groups 3 and 4 were detected. In comparison to the control, significant upregulation in the levels of CatSper1, CatSper2, CatSper3, CatSper4, ANO1 and TRPM3 of group 2, CatSper4, ANO1 and TRPM3 of group 3 and KCNJ11 of group 4, and significant downregulation in the CatSper 3 level of group 4 were determined. As a result, the semen freeze–thawing process causes motility and morphological disorders in rams. This may be due to molecular changes associated with lipid peroxidation in spermatozoa.

No abstract

Abstract. Urinary bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract. Ion channels and calcium homeostasis are involved in almost all basic cellular mechanisms. The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M (TRPM) takes its name from the melastatin protein, which is classified as potential tumor suppressor. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous studies in the literature investigating the role of these ion channels in bladder cancer. The present study aimed to determine whether bladder cancer is associated with mRNA expression levels of TRPM ion channel genes, and whether there is the potential to conduct further studies to establish novel treatment modalities. The present study included a total of 47 subjects, of whom 40 were bladder cancer patients and 7 were controls. Following the histopathological evaluation for bladder carcinoma, the mRNA and protein expression of TRPM were examined by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry in tumor and normal tissues, in order to determine whether there is a difference in the expression of these channels in tumor and normal tissues. Immunoreactivity for TRPM2, TRPM4, TRPM7 and TRPM8 was observed in epithelial bladder cells in the two groups. RT-qPCR revealed a significant increase in TRPM7 expression in bladder cancer tissue compared to the controls (healthy bladder tissue), whereas no differences in TRPM2 or TRPM4 expression levels were observed. There were significant reductions in the expression levels of TRPM5 and TRPM8 in bladder cancer tissues. In the present study, the effects of TRP ion channels on the formation of bladder cancer was investigated. This study is instructive for TRPM2, TRPM4, TRPM5, TRPM7 and TRPM8 and their therapeutic role in bladder cancer. The results support the fact that these gens can be novel targets and can also be tested for during the treatment of bladder cancer.

No abstract

Apelin is an adipose tissue derived peptidergic hormone. In this study, 40 male Sprague-Dawley rats were used (four groups; n = 10). Apelin-13 at three different dosages (1, 5 and 50 μg/kg) was given intraperitoneally while the control group received vehicle the same route for a period of 14 days. In results, apelin-13 caused significant decreases in serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels (p < 0.05). Administration of apelin-13 significantly increased body weights, food intake, serum low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol levels (p < 0.05), but caused significant decreases in high-density lipoprotein levels (p < 0.05). Serum glucose and triglyceride levels were not significantly altered by apelin-13 administration. Significant decreases in both uncoupling protein (UCP)-1 levels in the white and brown adipose tissues and UCP-3 levels in the biceps muscle (p < 0.05) were noted. The findings of the study suggest that apelin-13 may not only lead to obesity by increasing body weight but also cause infertility by suppressing reproductive hormones.