Tian WJ. et al., 2022: Effect of Li-ESWT on Testicular Tissue and Function in Androgen-Deficient Rat Model
Tian WJ, Jeon SH, Cho HJ, Ha U, Hong SH, Leel JY, Piao JJ, Xin ZC, Chen YG, Feng HY, Kim SW, Bae WJ, Rajasekaran MR.
Department of Urology, Second Hospital of Jilin University, China.
Department of Urology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Catholic Integrative Medicine Research Institute, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
China-Korea Joint Research Center for Male Reproductive and Sexual Medicine, Tianjin Institute of Urology, Tianjin, China.
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Suwon Science College, Hwaseong, Republic of Korea.
Department of Male Reproductive and Sexual Medline and Department of Urology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Department of Urology, San Diego School of Medicine, University of California, CA, USA.
Abstract
Low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT), as a microenergy therapy, has the effects of inhibiting oxidative stress, antiapoptosis, and tissue repair, which is increasingly applied to a variety of diseases. Our research aims to explore the protective effects of Li-ESWT in the aging rat model and its possible molecular mechanism through in vivo and in vitro experiments. In vitro, TM3 Leydig cells incubated with H2O2 were treated with Li-ESWT at 4 energy levels (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mJ/mm2). In vivo, we employed an androgen-deficient rat model to simulate male aging and treated it with Li-ESWT at three different energy levels (0.01, 0.05, and 0.2 mJ/mm2). Li-ESWT increased the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in TM3 cells, improved antioxidant capacity, and reduced apoptosis, with the effect being most significant at 0.05 mJ/mm2 energy level. In androgen-deficient rat model, LI-ESWT can improve sperm count, motility, and serum testosterone level, enhancing tissue antioxidant capacity and antiapoptotic ability, and the effect is most significant at 0.05 mJ/mm2 energy level. Therefore, Li-ESWT at an appropriate energy level can improve sperm count, motility, and serum testosterone levels in androgen-deficient rat models, reduce oxidative stress in the testis, and increase antioxidant capacity and antiapoptotic abilities. The mechanism of this condition might be related to the increased VEGF expression in Leydig cells by Li-ESWT.
Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2022 Mar 14;2022:5213573. doi: 10.1155/2022/5213573. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35320975. FREE ARTICLE
Comments 1
In urology, low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) is mainly used for Peyronie`s disease, chronic pelvic pain, and erectile dysfunction, whereas there is little knowledge on the effect of low energy focused shock waves on testicular tissue. There are even concerns about any teratogenic effect. In this scenario, this article provides interesting new information. First the authors analyzed the effect of Li-ESWT in vitro using a cell culture of TM3 Leydig cells. An immature mouse Leydig cell line using escalating energy levels (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2mJ/mm2). Subsequently, the used the androgen-deficient rat model to study the regenerating effect of Li-ESWT.
In vitro, Li-ESWT could prevent oxidative stress damage of TM3 Leydig cells induced by H2O2. Furthermore, the expression level of VEGF (vasculo-endothelial growth factor) increased after Li-ESWT treatment, and the increase was most significant at 0.05mJ/mm2 energy level (P sticular tissue. There are no signs of teratogenic effects. Since the armamentarium of medications for hypogonadism is very limited. Li-ESWT could be a very interesting therapeutic approach based the regenerative effect of focused shock waves.