Effect of N-acetylcysteine on FAS and ERK Genes Expression Changes in Testicular Tissue of Rats Treated with Acrylamide

Acrylamide is a toxic and carcinogenic substance that is produced in starchy foods at high heat and has negative effects on the reproductive system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of N-acetylcysteine ​​as an antioxidant on changes in the expression of FAS and ERK genes as genes involved in apoptosis in the testes of rats treated with acrylamide.

Adult male Wistar rats were randomly grouped into 6 groups of 6. The control group did not receive any drug treatment, while the animals of the experimental group 1 received  50 mg/kg acrylamide by gavage and experimental group 2 received 40 mg/kg N-acetylcysteine intraperitoneally injection. The animals of experimental groups 3, 4 and 5 first received 50 mg/kg acrylamide by gavage and then received 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg N-acetylcysteine ​​intraperitoneally respectively, for 28 days. At the end of the study, FAS and ERK mRNA expression levels were measured by real-time PCR method.

In experimental group 1, there was a significant increase in FAS gene expression level (p˂0.05) and a significant decrease in ERK gene expression level (p˂0.05) compared to control and experimental group 2. In experimental groups 3 and 4, there was a significant increase in FAS gene expression level (p˂0.05) and a significant decrease in ERK gene expression level (p˂0.05) compared to the control group. In experimental group 5, there was no significant difference in the expression of FAS and ERK genes compared to the control group (p<0.05).

Acrylamide can induce apoptosis in testicular tissue by changing the expression of FAS and ERK genes. On the other hand, N-acetylcysteine ​​can improve the expression of FAS and ERK genes in the maximum dose (40 mg/kg) with antioxidant effects and inhibit acrylamide-induced apoptosis in testicular tissue.