Background: Testicular torsion is a urological emergency, which results in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and eventually oxidative stress that can diminish spermatogenesis, and fertility. Kisspeptin, a biologically active particle of the kisspeptin peptide family, displays antioxidant and anti-apoptotic features. This study demonstrates that intraperitoneal administration of kisspeptin would reduce sperm damage caused by torsion/detorsion (T/D) in rats. Methods: Twenty adult male rats were randomly selected for four groups: sham, control (۷۲۰° T/D), T/D + ۰.۵۰ µg/kg kisspeptin, and T/D + ۱.۰۰ µg/kg kisspeptin. Testicular torsion was induced via rotating the spermatic cord ۷۲۰° clockwise for ۲ hours, followed by detorsion.
Kisspeptin was then injected intraperitoneally ۳۰ minutes before detorsion in treatment groups. Sperm parameters including count, motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity (HOST), and DNA damage (acridine orange staining) were evaluated after ۵۸ days. Data were analyzed using ANOVA (p < ۰.۰۵). Results: The control T/D group demonstrated highly reduced sperm count, motility, viability, and membrane integrity, along with increased DNA damage when compared to the sham group (p < ۰.۰۵). Administration of kisspeptin at both doses enhanced sperm quality parameters relative to the untreated T/D group. Specifically, sperm motility, viability, and membrane integrity were significantly higher, whereas DNA damage was noticeably reduced in kisspeptin injected groups (p < ۰.۰۵). The ۰.۵۰ µg/kg dose showed slightly better improvement in some parameters compared to ۱.۰۰ µg/kg. Conclusion: Intraperitoneal utilization of kisspeptin provided significant protection against testicular I/R injury caused by torsion/detorsion in rats. By improving sperm quality and reducing DNA damage, kisspeptin’s therapeutic potential was evident in order to strategically complement the preservation of fertility followed by torsion in testis. Further clinical investigations are indispensable to evaluate its usage in humans.