Beneficial effects of adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction on testicular injury caused by busulfan

Abstract

The use of stem cells can attenuate testicular injury and promote sperm production. The adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction (SVF) has become an attractive cell source for cell-based therapies. In this study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of SVF on busulfan-induced testicular damage in rats. Twenty-four male rats were randomly divided into control, busulfan, SVF, and busulfan + SVF groups. Testicular damage was induced by intraperitoneal administration of busulfan (35 mg/kg). SVF obtained from human adipose tissue using Lipocube SVF™ was injected into rats 5 weeks after busulfan administration. At the end of the 8th week, rats were sacrificed, and histopathological, biochemical, and western blotting analyses were performed. No harmful effects of SVF on healthy testis tissue and sperm parameters were detected. SVF improved busulfan-induced oxidative stress in both testis tissue and serum. SVF injection to damaged testicular tissue resulted in increases in the healthy spermatozoon numbers and decreases in the abnormal tail numbers. Additionally, SVF increased bax/Bcl, DAZL, and TGF-β1 levels whereas decreased ATG5 and NF-kB levels. According to the results we obtained in this study, we suggest that SVF is beneficial in restoring damaged tissue by primarily being a multipotent cell source, by inhibiting oxidative stress and converting necrotic cell death to apoptotic cell death. In the future, clinical applications should bring higher benefits. Since SVF is the patient’s own tissue, being harmless, it will offer an advantageous supportive treatment option for patients already weakened by cancer and anticancer therapy.

Keywords:

• Busulfan
• stromal vascular fraction
• stem cell
• infertility
• testicular damage

Author contributions

Hekimoglu ER: conceptualization, methodology, resources, and writing. Esrefoglu M: writing – reviewing and editing, supervision. Pasin O: validation, formal analysis, and data curation. Karakaya Cimen FB: visualization, investigation, and resources. Elibol B: resources. Dedeakayogullari H: resources. All authors approved the final version to be submitted.

Ethical approval

Approval for the study was granted by Bezmialem Vakıf University Local Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments (Ethic Committee No.: 2021/168) and Bezmialem Vakıf University Non-Interventional Research Ethics Committee (Ethic Committee No.: E-54022451-050.05.04-33870).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

Additional information

Funding

The project was supported by the Scientific Research Unit of Bezmialem Vakıf University (BAP No.: 20210825).