Qiangjing Tablets Regulate Apoptosis and Oxidative Stress via Keap/Nrf2 Pathway to Improve the Reproductive Function in Asthenospermia Rats

Abstract

Asthenozoospermia (AZS), is a common cause of male infertility. Currently, most drugs for azoospermia lack desirable therapeutic efficiency, therefore developing new drug therapy is important. Qiangjing tablets could enhance renal function and improve sperm quality. The purpose of this study was to examine whether Qiangjing tablets could improve the reproductive function in azoospermia rats through activating the Nrf2/ARE pathway, and how to regulate energy metabolism and oxidative stress in this process. Sperm motility, sperm concentration and sperm viability were detected by WLJY-9000 Weili Digital Color Sperm Quality Detection System. HE staining was used to observe the pathological condition of testis in AZS rats. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by Tunnel staining and flow cytometry. The changes of mitochondrial membrane potential were detected by JC-1. The levels of Estradiol, testosterone and luteinizing hormone, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were detected by ELISA. The effects of Qiangjing Tablets on GC-1 spgs and Nrf2 protein were investigated through CCK-8 assay and western blot. The expression levels of HO-1, Keap1, and P-Nrf2 were detected by western blot. The results demonstrated that Qiangjing tablets upregulated levels of sperm motility, sperm concentration and sperm viability, which was shown to significantly increase levels of HO-1, Keap1, P-Nrf2, Estradiol and testosterone, along with increasing the activity of SOD, GSH-Px and GSH and suppressing the MDA content, luteinizing hormone and Vimentin level. Qiangjing tablets could significantly inhibit spermatogenic cells apoptosis and promote GC-1 spgs viability, increase PE/FITC ratio, mitochondrial membrane potential and reduc oxidative stress. Qiangjing tablets protected spermatogenic cell to upregulate male sex hormoneto, improved the sperm quality and reproductive function in AZS rats via activating the Keap/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Neferine Exerts Ferroptosis-Inducing Effect and Antitumor Effect on Thyroid Cancer through Nrf2/HO-1/NQO1 Inhibition

“…Transcription factor Nrf-2 is an crucial regulator for a variety of cell biological processes, especially oxidative stress [ 52 ], which can modulate the expression of antioxidant enzymes and conjugation/detoxification enzymes, such as HO-1 and NQO-1 [ 53 ]. It has been revealed that both HO-1 and NQO-1 can neutralize the oxidative stress through enhancing the removal of ROS [ 54 ].…”

Qiangjing tablets repair of blood-testis barrier dysfunction in rats via regulating oxidative stress and p38 MAPK pathway

“…In order to provide a reliable method for the quality control of QJT, fingerprints of QJT and reference solution were compared in our previous study. At the same chromatographic conditions, there were 12 common peaks in fingerprints of both QJT and reference solution, which showed that the type or content of QJT appeared to no change greatly before and after preparation [ 19 ].…”

The traditional Chinese medicine Qiangjing tablet prevents blood‐testis barrier injury induced by CdCl2 through the PI3K/Akt/Rictor signaling pathway

“…QJP may improve the quality of sperm in asthenospermic rats by inhibiting apoptosis and oxidative stress. In our previous study, QJP was shown to inhibit the expression of ERK1/2 and vimentin in an SD rat model of asthenospermia, improve sperm quality by inhibiting oxidative stress, 20 reduce the testis expression of the apoptotic factor FasL, 20 inhibit the inflammatory cytokines IL‐1β and TNF‐ɑ in UU‐infected Sertoli cells, 21 and upregulate the expression of the key proteins ZO‐1, occludin and F‐actin in the BTB in cyclophosphamide‐treated rats 22 . These findings indicate that QJP may have the ability to reduce male infertility induced by pollution.…”