Testicular Torsion

Testicular torsion (TT) is a serious medical emergency that is mostly encountered in newborn and adolescent males but it can occur in any age and needs urgent surgical intervention 1. TT is defined as a rotation of the longitudinal axis of the spermatic cord resulting in obstruction of testicular blood flow 2.
Torsion/Detorsion is a typical condition of ischemia reperfusion in which torsion comprises the ischemic period whereas detorsion occupies the reperfusion period which is the main cause of testicular damage 3. TT causes testicular injury, leading to potential serious sequelae of infertility and subfertility; thus, immediate diagnosis is important for testicular salvage to avoid testicular atrophy, infarction and infertility 4.
Although the main pathological mechanisms of testicular injury following TT is not completely understood, the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during the ischemia reperfusion (I/R) process has been implicated as one of the main factors in cellular and tissue damage 5.
Fingolimod (FTY720) (2-amino-2-[2-(4-octylphenyl) ethyl]-1, 3-propanediol hydrochloride) is synthetically derived from myriocin, a metabolite isolated from ascomycete, Isaria sinclarii 6. FTY720 was demonstrated to prolong allograft survival in several solid organ transplant animal models 7. The
Further studies of the molecular basis of ceramide’s role in the ischemic organs are warranted. This will allow the discovery of novel and groundbreaking therapeutic approaches to mitigate diseases that may result from an elevation in ceramide and its metabolites. Therefore the aim of our study is to investigate the protective effect of FTY720 on testicular damage induced by unilateral testicular ischemia reperfusion and also to elucidate the role of FTY720 on the level of testicular