Cell and Tissue Journal

Abstract Aim: The current study aims to utilize varicocele induction in male rat models to evaluate effect and impact of varicocele on DNA integrity.
 
Material and Methods: 66 male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups: control, sham and varicocele-induced (VI). 2 months post-VI, Sperm parameters, percentage of sperm DNA damage, persistent histone and lipid peroxidation were assessed.
 
Results: Animal weight and their epididymal length shown no significant changes but there were significant differences in testis volume and sperm parameters between VI group versus control and sham groups. Similarly, increased level of DNA damage, persistent histone and lipid peroxidation were evaluated, and compared between varicocele and control group.
 
Conclusion: Based on literature and the result of this study, it is likely that increase oxidative stress following varicocele induction leads to lipide peroxidation, DNA damages and reduced sperm parameters. In the current study, by taking the advantage of homogenous genetic background and high number of animals, we showed that varicocele have damaging effect on DNA and chromatin integrity and should be reversed in human before aiming for pregnancy.
 
 

Abstract Aim: In this research, design and fabrication of graphene reinforced nano-composite scaffolds for neural induction in dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) has been considered.
Material and methods: Polycaprolactone / nano-graphene composite scaffolds with 1%, 3% and 5% wt. graphene were firstly fabricated by the solvent casting method. Subsequently, hydrophilicity and electrical conductivity of the nano-composites were measured. According to the results of the mentioned physical experiments, the appropriate scaffold with the optimal ratio of nano-graphene was selected and cellular morphology, metabolic activity and neural differentiation potential of cultured DPSCs on it were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), MTS assay and Immunofluorescent staining, respectively.
Results: Conductivity results demonstrated that by adding graphene to pure polymer, the electrical conductivity of the composite considerably increased. The addition of 5% wt. nano-graphene to the polymer can also reduce contact angle amount from 99.89±2.86° to 64.03±3.36°. Finally, SEM and Immunofluorescence images with MAP2 marker illustrated that the cultured cells on the surface of optimum scaffold differentiated into neuron-like cells with neural morphology.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that conductive polycaprolactone containing 5% graphene nano-composite scaffolds have the appropriate potential for induction of neural differentiation and application in neural tissue engineering.