Effects of melatonin and curcumin treatments on the ovarium in kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury: a histopathological investigation

Aim: We aimed to investigate how bilateral renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) damage affects the ovaries as a distant organ and the effects of melatonin (MEL), curcumin (CUR) and melatonin+curcumin (MEL+CUR) treatments on I/R damage. Material and Method: 42 female Wistar rats were used in the study. Rats were divided into 6 groups and study was designed as follows: Control group (G1) – opening and closing the abdomen only (sham surgery group) –, I/R group (G2) – 45 min ischemia followed by 2 h reperfusion –, I/R+MEL group (G3) – 45 min ischemia, intraperitoneal (i.p) 20 mg/kg MEL injection 5 min before reperfusion, followed by 2 h reperfusion –, I/R+CUR group (G4) – 45 min ischemia, 5 min before reperfusion i.p 200 mg/kg CUR injection and then 2 hours reperfusion –, I/R+MEL+CUR group (G5) – 45 min ischemia, 5 min before reperfusion i.p 20 mg/kg MEL and 200 mg/kg CUR injection, followed by 2 hours reperfusion –. At the end of the reperfusion period, the rats were sacrificed. Right ovaries were removed from the peritoneum and fixed. After fixation and follow-up, tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin&eosin (H&E), Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)+Hematoxylin (PAS+H) and Masson’s trichrome stains. Pathological changes were scored and statistically evaluated. Results: Compared to the control group, there was a decrease in hemorrhage, vascular congestion, follicular degeneration, inflammation, interstitial edema, vasodilation and growing follicle numbers in all groups; these changes were severe in the G2 group; Mild to moderate severity was observed in the G3, G4 and G5 groups. Conclusion: Renal I/R damage significantly affects the ovaries histopathologically. MEL, CUR, and MEL+CUR partially preserve the histological structure, but MEL treatment seems to be more effective than CUR treatment.