This study investigated the ameliorative potential of methanolic date flesh extract (MDFE) against cisplatin-induced hepatic injury. Twenty male rats (weighing 180–200 g) were allocated into four groups: control; date flesh (DF) group (oral 600 mg/kg MDFE for 21 days); Cis group (7.5 mg/kg i.p. at day 16); and date flesh/cisplatin (DF/Cis) group (oral 600 mg/kg MDFE for 21 days and 7.5 mg/kg i.p. at day 16). Hepatic biochemical parameters in sera, and inflammatory and oxidant/antioxidant hepatic biomarkers were estimated. Hepatic histological changes and the immunohistochemistry of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were assessed. Pretreatment with MDFE decreased Cis-triggered liver biochemical parameters, oxidative stress, inflammatory biomarkers, and histological damage. Moreover, MDFE treatment reduced Cis-induced hepatic NF-κB, COX-2, and α-SMA protein expression. MDFE exerted a hepatoprotective effect when used concomitantly with Cis. Its effect was mediated via its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background and Objectives: Testicular torsion is an emergency. Thus, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are fundamental to avoid irreversible testicular damage. The present study aimed to throw more light on the histological alterations in adult albino rat's ipsilateral testis after unilateral testicular torsion and detorsion (T/D) and to demonstrate the effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injection on these alterations. Materials and Methods: Twenty seven adult healthy male albino rats were divided into 3 main equal groups: Group I (Control group), Group II (T/D): the rats were surgically operated to perform T/D and Group III (T/D+MSCs): the animals were injected with MSCs in tail vein at the end of the surgery. All rats were sacrificed ten weeks from the start of the experiment and testis specimens were processed to be examined by light and electron microscope. Blood specimens were taken to measure serum testosterone level. Results: Degenerative changes were observed in spermatogenic and Sertoli cells of T/D group and were associated with statistical significant reduction in serum testosterone level, height of germinal epithelium, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and vimentin immunoexpression. These changes were observed to be reduced in T/D+MSCs group. Conclusions: MSCs treatment could protect the spermatogenic and Sertoli cells from degenerative changes in testis after T/D in adult albino rats. Hence, MSCs therapy could be considered as a promising therapeutic tool to preserve spermatogenesis in cases of testicular T/D and should be more studied either on experimental animals or human.

Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T 1 DM) are vulnerable to developing diabetic retinopathy even under insulin therapy. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of hesperidin and insulin in rats with T 1 DM compared with insulin alone in improving diabetic retinal changes. Eighty rats were divided into four equal groups: group I, control rats without diabetes; group II, untreated rats with diabetes; group III, rats with diabetes treated daily with subcutaneous (SC) doses of long-acting insulin; and group IV, a rat with diabetes in which hesperidin was orally administered with SC insulin. The animals were assessed histologically, morphometrically, and biochemically. In group II, the thickness of all retinal layers decreased histologically. Ultrastructurally, degenerated retinal neurons and congested blood vessels were observed. Immunostaining detected elevated gene expression of advanced glycation end products. Gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor, and glial fibrillary acidic protein were elevated. In this study, hesperidin supplementation with insulin significantly improved the retinal histological changes, supported by morphometric findings, compared with insulin alone. Moreover, treatment with hesperidin significantly reduced malondialdehyde and elevated serum antioxidant markers, including superoxide dismutase and catalase; furthermore, glutathione peroxidase decreased. Hesperidin might be an effective supplement for improving diabetic retinal complications occurring even with insulin treatment.

Introduction: Homocysteine (HCY) is an amino acid that is formed as an intermediate during the metabolism of methionine. The role of hyperhomocysteinemia in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis has been considered a focal point. Aim of the work: Is to investigate the structural changes that occur in the bone and epiphyseal plate of femur in young male albino rats after being treated with oral HCY and the possible protective role of folic acid. Materials and methods: Thirty six young male albino rats were used in this experiment. They were equally divided into three group. The control group, HCY treated group (group II) received 0.6mg HCY/g b.w/day for 6 weeks and protected group (group III) received both HCY and folic acid (2 mg/kg) by oral gavages for 6weeks. At the end of experiment, the femurs of the animals were prepared for both light (hematoxylin and eosin, mallory trichrome stains and osteoprotegerin immunoreaction) and transmission electron microscopic examinations. Cortical and trabecular bone thickness were assessed using the image analyzer, in addition to counting the number of osteoclasts. Results: HCY treated group showed significant reduction of cortical bone thickness of femur diaphysis with multiple cavity formation as well as a significant reduction in the trabecular bone thickness of distal metaphysis as compared with the control group. Additionally; the cancellous bone trabeculae were also separated by wide bone marrow rich in fat cells associated with a reduction in osteoprotegerin immunoexpression. The distal epiphyseal plate showed a lack of the orderly chondrocytes columns arrangement. Regarding the protected group, bone architecture was maintained so that the cortical and trabecular bone had nearly normal appearance in comparison with the control group. Ultrastructurally, osteocytes showed marked degenerative changes and were surrounded by irregular collagenous fibrils while the osteoclasts were increased as proved statistically. Conclusion: Hyperhomocysteinemia induced profound histological changes in the epiphyseal plate, trabecular and cortical bone of femur in young rats. Folic acid could have a protective role against these alterations.

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are widely used as semiconductors and in antibacterial medications. They have been reported to elicit various adverse effects including oxidative stress and DNA damage. Vitamin E has been reported to protect against lipid peroxidation induced tissue damage. The aim of this work was to investigate the short term chronic pulmonary toxicity, neurotoxicity and genotoxicity of CuO NPs and evaluate the protective role of vitamin E against CuO NPs toxicity in adult male albino rats. Seventy two adult male albino rats were used in this study. They were divided into 5 groups: Negative control group (I), Positive control group (II) subdivided into 2 groups: (IIA) and (IIB), Vitamin E treated group (III), CuO NPs treated group (IV) and CuO NPs + vitamin E treated group (V). After 4 and 8 weeks, 6 rats from each group subjected to blood sample collection for estimating MDA. The rats were sacrificed and the brain and lungs were dissected and divided into three parts. The first part was used for estimating copper content in the brain and lungs. The second part was used to determine the extent of DNA damage. The third part was subjected to microscopic histopathological, and immunohistochemical examination. The results revealed that CuO NPs administration induced a significant increase in serum MDA and in copper content in the brain and the lungs. CuO NPs produced DNA damage and histopathological alteration in the brain and the lungs with increased caspase 3 immunoreactivity. Vitamin E produced improvement in serum MDA, histopathological changes and caspase 3 immunoreactivity with protective effect against DNA damage. Conclusion: CuO NPs induced toxic effects and DNA damage in the brain and the lungs and administration of vitamin E with CuO NPs offers protection against their damaging effect.