The recovery effect of Vitamin C on structural alterations due to Streptozotocin-Induced diabetes in rat testicular tissues

• Published in: Spectrochimica acta. Part A, Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy Molecular and biomolecular spectroscopy, 2023-03, Vol.288, p.122149, Article 122149
• Main Authors: Kucuk Baloglu, Fatma, Guldag Tas, Damla, Yilmaz, Okkes, Severcan, Feride
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ATR-FTIR spectroscopy; Biomolecular Structure; Protein Secondary Structure; Testicular tissue; Type I diabetes; Vitamin C
• ISSN: 1386-1425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.122149

[Display omitted] •Type I diabetes has a harmful effect on the biomolecular structure of rat testes.•Diabetes indicates a significant effect on lipids and proteins in testicular tissue.•Vitamin C has a recovery effect on symptoms of diabetes-induced oxidative stress.•Medium dose of Vitamin C is most effective on rat testicular tissue in diabetes. Type I Diabetes is a multisystem disease that causes alterations in carbohydrate, protein, and fat metabolisms due to hyperglycemia. It has an extensive pathology, especially the mechanism involving oxidative stress is still complex. Type I diabetes is correlated with increased formation of free radicals and decreased levels of antioxidant potential. Vitamin C (Vit C) is a powerful antioxidant that participates in antioxidant defense, protecting lipid membranes and proteins from oxidative damage by donating electrons to free radicals. The effect of type I diabetes and the recovery role of Vit C on the structure and composition of the biomolecular content of testicular tissue is still unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the alterations in the biomolecules of rat testes due to Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type I diabetes using Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR)-Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and histological staining. The results revealed that the biomolecular structure and composition of testicular tissue are highly affected due to the development of diabetes. We obtained decreased saturation levels and increased unsaturation index in the lipids indicating the presence of lipid peroxidation in the diabetic state. The elevated lipid peroxidation levels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of naturally occurring and chemically induced diabetes. On the other hand, the protein content of diabetic rat testicular tissue was shown to decrease considerably, indicating an increase in proteolysis processes. Supporting the ratio of protein structural and conformational change, protein secondary structural components were also found to alter substantially in the diabetic state. Diabetes was also shown to lead to a decrease in the content of nucleic acids compared to proteins. These diabetes-induced alterations were found to be substantially recovered with the administration of Vit C. Although different doses and administration types of Vit C have been reported in the literature, there is no consensus yet. Therefore, we used three different doses of Vit C in our study as high (100 mg/k