Effects of MDMA (ecstasy) on apoptosis and heat shock protein (HSP70) expression in adult rat testis

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ecstasy) on apoptosis and heat shock protein expression in adult rat testis. Methods: Twenty male rats were divided into four groups, two experimental groups (1 and 2), sham control and control. For 16 consecutive days, the experimental groups 1 and 2 were received 5 and 10mg/kg intraperitoneal (ip) injection of ecstasy, respectively, and in the sham control group, the only saline was injected. In the control group there was no intervention. Finally, the rat's testes were removed and processed for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: Both doses of MDMA in experimental groups 1 and 2 significantly increased the mean number of TUNEL-positive cells in the germinal epithelium and Leydig cells (p < 0.05). Also in the experimental groups, the immunoreactivity of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) significantly increased in the testis (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The findings revealed that MDMA administration increases the level of immunoreactivity of HSP70 and TUNEL-positive cells in the testicular tissue.