assessing the reducing effect of coenzyme q10 on carbendazim-induced testicular tissue dysfunction through modulation of mir-202-5p/apoptosis signaling in rats: a histological and immunohistochemical study

Widespread application of carbendazim (carb) in agriculture and veterinary is a major environmental concern because of its residues that disrupt spermatogenesis. recently, coenzyme q10 (coq10) supplementation has demonstrated various health benefits due to its anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammatory nature. thus, the present study aimed to investigate the possible mechanistic pathway of coq10 in carb-induced reproductive dysfunction in male rats. adult male wistar rats were orally exposed to carb (150 mg/kg) singly or in combination with coq10 (200 mg/kg). the rats received their treatments daily for 9 weeks. at the end of the work, the testis specimens were excised for histological (h e staining), immunohistochemical, hormonal, and molecular (real-time quantitative pcr) assessments. the carb group showed adverse testicular alterations confirmed by immunostaining and demonstrated a significant upregulation of bax and caspase-3 expression, while exhibiting a notable reduction in the immunopositivity of bcl-2 protein within the testes of rats. real-time pcr analysis revealed that carb treatment decreased the expression of mir-202-5p with a concomitant decline in concentrations of testosterone and lh hormones.  conversely, in carb-treated rats, co-treatment with coq10 restored the tissue architecture, hormonal disturbance, and declined apoptotic index to near control level. in addition, high expression of mir-202-5p was observed in the carb + coq10 group, and testicular tissues returned to nearly normal histological architecture. we concluded that carb causes adverse testicular alterations via mir-202-5p/apoptosis pathway, and coq10 may prove useful in combating carb-induced adverse effects via its anti-apoptotic and gene regulatory effects.