Abstract
Adult males are considered the main causes of infertility defects in the world; therefore, scientists are searching for factors that play a role in male fertility, such as kisspeptin, which acts as one of the master controllers and regulators of gonadotropin secretion from the hypothalamus in mammalian species. Furthermore, it has been shown that the kisspeptin receptor is mainly localized in the interstitial and germ cells of the testicles and has a role in the regulation of gonadal development and function. This study aimed to investigate the effect of kisspeptin on testicular degeneration syndrome induced by cadmium chloride in male Wistar rats and identify the best concentration of kisspeptin to cure this syndrome. A total of 40 male rats were divided into four equal groups of negative control (n=10) that was injected subcutaneously (SC) with normal saline solution twice a week for 42 days; positive control (n=10) that was intraperitoneally injected with cadmium chloride (1 mg/kg B.W., once a week for two weeks); T(1) that was intraperitoneally injected with cadmium chloride (1 mg/kg B.W., once a week for two weeks), and after 14 days, 20 nmol/rat of kisspeptins were injected SC twice a week for 42 days in all animals; and T(2) that was intraperitoneally injected with cadmium chloride (1 mg/kg B.W. once a week for two weeks), and after 14 days, 40 nmol/rat of kisspeptins were injected SC twice a week for 42 days in all animals. All animals were then euthanized after 42 days, and their testes were dissected for a histological study. The results of the present study confirmed that cadmium chloride affected the male testes and sperm parameters, while the administration of kisspeptin at doses of 20 and 40 nmol/rat (twice a week) by SC injection showed a significant effect in restoring the reproduction feature and histology of the rats' testicular tissue.