The effects of intracerebroventricular infusion of apelin-13 on reproductive function in male rats

• Infusion of central apelin-13 can suppress LH pulse.
• Apelin-13 decreases serum testosterone levels.
• Apelin-13 may cause infertility in male rats.

Apelin is a novel bioactive peptide as the endogenous ligand for APJ. Apelin and APJ have also been identified in the testis, hypothalamic nuclei such as arcuate, supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei, implicating roles in the control of reproduction.Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effects of chronic central infusion of apelin-13 on LH, FSH and testosterone levels and testis morphology. 21 Wistar–Albino male rats received continuous intracerebroventricular infusion via Alzet osmotic mini pumps filled artificial cerebrospinal fluid (vehicle) or apelin-13 at concentrations of 1 or 10 nmol (10 μl/h) for seven days. At the last 90 min of the infusion period, the blood samples were collected at 15 min intervals (0–90 min) for LH and FSH analyses. At the last sampling point, the blood samples were analyzed for testosterone levels.Infusion of high dose apelin-13 significantly suppressed LH release compared with the vehicle values at 30, 60 and 75 min (p < 0.05). However, FSH levels did not significantly differ among the groups. Serum testosterone levels in high dose apelin-13 group were statistically lower than the control group (p < 0.05). In addition, histological examination showed that infusion of high dose apelin-13 significantly decreased the number of Leydig cells compared with the control and lower dose apelin-13 groups (p < 0.05, p < 0.01).Our results suggest that apelin-13 may play a role in the central regulation and decreases testosterone release by suppressing LH secretion. Thus, antagonists of the apelin receptor may, therefore, be useful for pharmaceuticals in the treatment of infertility.