Objective: 

Gammaamino butyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that leads to hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane. This increased membrane potential is named as inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP). GABA transporter 1 (GAT1) plays an important role in GABA reuptake from the synaptic cleft. GAT1 is found in the testes besides central nervous system and participates in the regulation of testicular function. Recently, it has been shown that GAT1 overexpression affects both testicular morphology and fertility. This study aims to investigate the effects of stress on the GAT1 localization in rat testes.

Methods: 

Twelve adult male Sprague Dawley rats were grouped randomly as the control (n=6) and stress-exposed (n=6) groups. Stress-exposed group performed "chronic-mild-stress" (CMS) procedure for four weeks. At the end of the experiment, testes were removed from sacrificed rats, and fixed in Bouin's solution. After processing the samples for histological evaluation, paraffin sections of the testes were stained with immunoperoxidase method to assess GAT1 localization and then, examined under a light microscope.

Results: 

By light microscopy, a prominent positive immunoperoxidase reaction in a dark brown color was observed in the testis sections processed with the GAT1 antibody. Any positive immune reaction was not observed when nonimmune serum was used instead of the primary antibody. Testicular GAT1-specific immunohistochemical reaction in the stress-exposed group was more widespread and dense than that in the control group.

Conclusions: 

In conclusion, we thought that stress might cause an increased GAT1 expression in the testes and this might be an important risk factor regarding male infertility.