Colpomenia sinuosa extract mitigates lead acetate-induced testicular dysfunctions in male rats

Layla Almutairi ¹ Amal Abu-Almakarem ² Noorah Saleh Al-Sowayan ³ Sahar Abdulrahman Alkhodair ⁴ Hayat M Albishi ⁴ Thamir Eid ⁴ Fahad Alshanbari ⁵ Najlaa Yousef Abuzinadah ⁶ Maysa Mobasher ⁷ Karim El-Said ^8*

• ¹ Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• ² Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia
• ³ Department of Biology, College of Science and Arts at Unaizah, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁴ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁵ Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, buraydah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁶ Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Jeddah University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁷ Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Jouf University, Sakakah, Saudi Arabia
• ⁸ Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

Background: Colpomenia sinuosa brown algae contains pharmacologically active compounds with a wide spectrum of bioactivities; however, few studies have been conducted in the Mediterranean to assess their effects against heavy metal toxicity. One common nonbiodegradable contaminant that poses a serious risk to human health and the environment is lead (Pb). This study investigated the efficacy of C. sinuosa extract (CSE) treatment on testicular injury caused by lead acetate (PbAc) in rats.The phytochemical, and GC/MS profiling, and metal chelation ability of CSE were evaluated. Molecular docking studies were performed using AutoDock Vina. The oral LD50 of CSE was determined by probit analysis. 40 male rats were used as follows: Gp1 as a negative control; Gp2 was treated with 1/10 of CSE LD50 (340 mg/kg b. wt.); Gp3 was administered PbAc solution (100 mg/kg b. wt.); Gp4 was orally administered PbAc as in Gp3 and CSE as in Gp2.All treatments were given daily by gastric tube for 30 days. Body weight changes, biochemical, molecular, and histopathological examinations were investigated.The results demonstrate that CSE exerted a pronounced metal-chelating activity in vitro and contain promising phytochemicals. The LD50 of CSE was 3400 mg/kg b. wt. PbActreated rats reported significant testicular dysfunction with impaired semen analysis, biochemical, molecular, and histological changes. CSE treatment showed significant palliative effects on these dysfunctions via improvements in antioxidant status, anti-inflammatory properties, and histopathological alterations. Interestingly, CSE treatment modulates the JAK2/STAT3, and NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathways axis in PbAc-injured rats.This study for the first time investigated the biochemical and molecular mechanisms regarding the effects of CSE treatment on PbAc-induced testicular damage in male rats. CSE showed potential attenuative effect on the testis injury induced by PbAc treatment by targeting JAK2/STAT3, and NLRP3/Caspase-1 pathways. These findings suggest that CSE could be used against the adverse effect of PbAc on male repro-toxicity.