Effects of Royal Jelly on Apoptosis and the Expression of Apoptotic Genes on Testicular Tissue in Male Balb/C Mice Treated with Daunorubicin

Background and purpose: Daunorubicin is an effective drug in chemotherapy, but its clinical use is limited due to serious side effects. Royal jelly as a natural compound obtained from bees can be helpful in preventing the damage caused by daunorubicin. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of royal jelly on the number of apoptotic cells and the expression of genes involved in apoptosis in mice treated with daunorubicin. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 77 Balb/c mice were randomly divided into seven groups (n= 11 per group): sham, control, royal jelly (50 and 100 mg/kg), daunorubicin (2 mg/kg), and royal jelly (50 and 100 mg/kg) + daunorubicin. The mice received saline (0.09%), IP daunorubicin, and royal jelly orally for eight weeks. To estimate the number of apoptotic cells and the expression of genes related to apoptosis in testis, we used ELISA test and Real-time PCR assay, respectively. Data analysis was done applying One-way Analysis of Variance and Tukey's test in SPSS. Results: Daunorubicin caused significant increase in the number of apoptotic cells, and expression levels of p53, Bax, caspase 3, caspase 8, and caspase 9 (P<0.01) and a significant decrease in the bcl-2 gene expression (P<0.01). In treatment groups, these changes were moderated by royal jelly. Conclusion: Royal jelly administration, by reducing the number of apoptotic cells and affecting the expression of genes involved in apoptosis, improves the damage caused by daunorubicin on the testicular tissue of mice.