LOCALIZATION OF GHRELIN IN TESTES OF MICE ADMINISTERED ORALLY WITH LEPIDIUM MEYENII (MACA), AND WITH TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL CHRONIC EXPOSUR

A previous study of ours highlighted how prolonged exposure to cannabinoids induced negative effects of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on testicular morphology and spermatogenesis. This picture may depend on the modulation of cannabinoid receptors that are present on Sertoli and Leydig cells but also by molecules with endocrine or paracrine action such as ghrelin that influence the balance of molecular signaling and nurturing of the microenvironment. Lepidium meyenii Walp (Maca), is a crop harvested exclusively between 3500 and 4500 m above sea level in the Andes highlands of and recognized to have antioxidant power and ability to improve both male and female reproductive functions, in humans and animals. Several are the ecotypes depending on crop’s color, the most used are the yellow, red and black ecotypes. The aims of the present study were to assess if the morpho-structural aspects of mouse testes, already highlighted in previous studies, were confirmed in this experimental model, and to evaluate the presence of ghrelin and its receptor in mouse testicular tissue following the treatment with THC and/or Maca (Yellow ecotype) by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting analyses. To these aims, twenty-four C57BL/6 male mice of 6 weeks of age were included in the study and divided in four groups of five animals each one, as follow: C, control group, with no treatment; THC group received 10 mg/kg per day of Δ 9 THC in 0.1 ml of sesame oil subcutaneously for 30 days; Maca group received 50 mg/kg per day of Maca via oral administration for 30 days; THC/Maca group received THC and Maca with the same modalities of the THC and Maca groups respectively, for 30 days.In all testes examined, Western blotting analysis highlighted the presence of ghrelin, in particular we observed a band whose molecular weight was similar to that of the corresponding prepro-ghrelin (approximately 20 kDa), and its receptor (40 kDa). Immunohistochemistry study on mouse testis showed the presence of ghrelin localized in Leydig cells in all study groups. The THC/Maca group is the one which, compared to the other groups of treated mice, also showed immunopositivity in Sertoli cells. From the data that emerged, it is probable that ghrelin plays a role in the modulation of androgen hormone production at the Leydig cell level, and that ghrelin localized in Sertoli cells of the THC/Maca group may favorably influence spermatogenesis.