Sitagliptin protects male albino rats with testicular ischaemia/reperfusion damage: Modulation of VCAM‐1 and VEGF‐A

Twisting of the spermatic cord is considered a popular problem in the urological field, which may lead to testicular necrosis and male infertility. Sitagliptin, a glucose‐lowering agent, proved to have a vindicatory function in myocardial and renal ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R), but its role in testicular I/R has not yet been studied. The current work investigates its capability to recover the testicular I/R injury with shedding more light on the mechanism of its action. Four groups were used: sham, sham pretreated with sitagliptin, I/R and sitagliptin/I/R‐pretreated groups. The outcomes proved that I/R significantly decreased the serum testosterone, with a major increase in oxidative, inflammatory and nitrosative stress, along with a reduction in testicular vascular endothelial growth factor‐A level with marked germinal cell apoptosis. However, pretreatment with sitagliptin significantly reversed the profound testicular I/R damaging effects, on the basis of its antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐apoptotic activities with the ability of recuperation of the testicular vascularity. The potential mechanisms undelying the protective effect of sitagliptin in testicular ischemia/reprfusion injury in rats.