Shabnam Mohammadi, Mehdi Jalali, Mohammad RezaNikravesh, Mojtaba Sankian, MehranGholamin, Alireza Fazel1 and Alireza Ebrahimzadeh
CatSper genes (1-4) are four identified channel-like proteins, which are expressed exclusively in the testis and play a crucial role in sperm motility, and male fertility. In spite of their crucial role in male reproduction, there is little data to evaluate the factors regulating their expression. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin E and L-carnitine therapy on CatSper genes expression and sperm quality in the aging mice. Twenty-four 11 to 12-months and twenty-four 2 to 3-months old male mice were randomly divided into four groups: (a) Young control; (b) Young treated with vitamin E and carnitine (106 mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate plus 50 mg/kg Lcarnitine) ; (c) Aged control; and (d) Aged treated with vitamin E and carnitine (106 mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate plus 50 mg/kg L-carnitine). Treatment was administered intra-peritoneally for 5 weeks. The expression of CatSper1 and CatSper 2 were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction in mouse testis. Cauda epididymis was kept for the sperm analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Our results indicated that the expression of CatSper 1 and CatSper 2 genes increased in the experimental groups compared to the control ones. Besides, sperm parameters improved especially in terms of sperm count and motility in the experimental groups. Treatment with vitamin E and L-carnitine increases CatSper genes expression in testis as well as sperm parameters.
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