Contrary effects of coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E after testicular ischemia/reperfusion in a rat model validated with glucose metabolism imaging

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of antioxidants in cellular-level post-ischemia/reperfusion injury of the testis and to validate these effects with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Methods: Fifty-six adult male rats were randomly divided into seven groups—Group 1: sham; Group 2: ischemia/reperfusion only group; Group 3: ischemia was induced and vitamin E (100 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 30 min before reperfusion; Group 4: vitamin E was given intraperitoneally without ischemia/reperfusion; Group 5: ischemia was induced and coenzyme Q10 (10 mg/body weight) was administered intraperitoneally 30 min before reperfusion; Group 6: coenzyme Q10 was administered intraperitoneally without ischemia/reperfusion; Group 7: ischemia was induced and coenzyme Q10 + vitamin E was administered intraperitoneally 30 min before reperfusion. After detorsion, fluorodeoxyglucose was applied to all groups according to the animals’ weight and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography was performed after 1 h. In pursuit of imaging, orchiectomy was performed for histopathological and biochemical evaluations. Results: A significant effect of group on catalase, maximum standardized uptake value, and seminiferous tubule diameters (p Conclusion: In contrast to vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 provided remarkable regression of oxidative stress–induced enzymes and revealed consistent effects on histopathological outcomes, which were validated with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging.