title: Role of vitamins E and C in mitigating hypoxia- and exhaustive exercise-induced aberrant stem cell factor expression and impaired reproductive function in male Wistar rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate and compare the potential role of vitamins E and C in protecting against acute swimming induced reproductive function damage at different altitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was carried between October and November 2010. A total of 36 adult male Wistar rats weighing 250+/-5 g, and aged 8 weeks were used in this study, which was carried at the Physiology laboratory of King Khalid University in Abha City (high altitude area [HA]), and at the College of Science, King Saud University in Riyadh city (low altitude area [LA]), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The rats of each area were divided into 3 groups (n=6 each): control, acute exercise stress, and vitamins E and C pretreated stress. At the end of the study, oxidative stress, reproductive function, histopathology, and expression of stem cell factor (CSF) were examined in all rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Living under HA conditions decreased expression of SCF, sperm count, and serum levels of reproductive hormones, and significantly increased testicle tissue oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Exhaustive exercise-induced stress at both altitudes resulted in similar results with more deteriorating effects in rats of HA compared with LA. Supplementation of vitamins E and C prior to stress induction at both altitudes prevented all these structural and functional aberrations from happening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High altitude or strenuous exercise, or both, may impair male reproductive function, while vitamins E and C in combination potentially mitigate these adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. fahaid999@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Fahaid H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Al-Hashem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D006400:Hematocrit; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012098:Reproduction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D014810:Vitamin E; D001205:Ascorbic Acid; D006854:Hydrocortisone