Assessing the Effects of Fullerene C60 on Markers of Oxidative Stress in the Testes of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Occurrence of oxidative stress in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus affects spermatogenesis and the testicular functions. As the promising antioxidant activities of fullerene C60 nanomaterial have been demonstrated by previous reports, the current study aimed to determine the fullerene C60 effects on the markers of oxidative stress damage in testes of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats.

To perform the current study, 32 male Wistar rats were assigned to four groups (each group, n=8) as follows: two control (normal and diabetic) and two treated (normal and diabetic) groups. Streptozotocin at dose of 45 mg/kg (i.v. injection) was used to induce diabetes at the beginning of the test. Treated rats orally received fullerene C60 (1 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks. The markers of oxidative stress damage were assessed in the testes at the end of the study, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) contents as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test were used to analyze the data.

Blood glucose level was not altered in the fullerene-treated normal and diabetic animals. Diabetes induction increased MDA level, but decreased CAT activity in the testes of diabetic animals compared to the normal animals. Administering fullerene C60 significantly decreased MDA content and increased the activity of CAT in the testes of diabetic animals compared to the untreated diabetic rats. Fullerene C60 administration in normal animals also decreased the activity of SOD in the testes.  

According to our findings, fullerene C60 nanoparticle could reduce oxidative stress damage in diabetic condition in the rat testicular tissue probably through potentiating the antioxidant defense system.