Objective

2

To investigate the effect and mechanism of Shenling Baizhusan on the treatment of oligoasthenospermia with hyperuricemia （HUA）.

Method

2

Thirty-two male Kunming （KM） mice were randomly divided into blank group （

n

=6）， model group （

n

=6）， high-dose Shenling Baizhusan group （

n

=7）， low-dose Shenling Baizhusan group （

n

=7）， and febuxostat group （

n

=6）. Except for the blank group， all other groups received intraperitoneal injection of potassium oxazinate suspension （600 mg·kg

-1

） for 7 days. After modeling， the high-dose Shenling Baizhusan group and the low-dose Shenling Baizhusan group were orally administered with 20.14 g·kg

-1

and 10.07 g·kg

-1

of Shenling Baizhusan， respectively. The Febuxostat group was orally administered with 0.25 g·kg

-1

of Febuxostat， while the blank group and model group were orally administered with the same volume of physiological saline. Oral administration was performed once a day for 14 consecutive days， after which samples were collected. Biochemical methods were used to measure serum uric acid （UA）， superoxide dismutase （SOD） and malondialdehyde （MDA） in testicular tissue. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the histopathological changes in testicular tissue and evaluate the spermatogenesis function. Automated sperm analyzer was used to measure sperm density and motility. Single-cell gel electrophoresis （SCGE） was used to assess sperm DNA integrity. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling （TUNEL） was used to detect testicular cell apoptosis rate. Western blot analysis was performed to measure the protein expression levels of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1）， nuclear factor E

2

-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）， and Caspase-3 in testicular tissue. Real-time polymerase chain reaction （PCR） was conducted to evaluate the mRNA expression levels of Keap1， Nrf2， and HO-1 in testicular tissue.

Result

2

Compared with the blank group， the model group showed elevated serum UA level （

P

<

0.01）， decreased testicular spermatogenesis function， sperm density， and motility （

P

<

0.01）， and increased sperm trailing rate and testicular cell apoptosis rate （

P

<

0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose Shenling Baizhusan group showed significant improvements in the above-mentioned indicators （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. Additionally， the expression levels of Keap1， Bax， and Caspase-3 in testicular tissue were reduced， while the expression levels of Nrf2， HO-1， and Bcl-2 increased （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）. The mRNA level of Keap1 decreased （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）， while the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 increased （

P

<

0.05，

P

<

0.01）.

Conclusion

2

Shenling Baizhusan can significantly improve HUA oligoasthenospermia， and its mechanism may be related to the Nrf2/antioxidant response element （ARE） signaling pathway.