Background: Radioprotective effect of
famotidine was previously shown on radiation
induced micronuclei and chromosomal aberrations in
human peripheral lymphocytes and mouse bone
marrow cells however, its radioprotective property
has never been studied in mouse spermatogenesis. It
was also shown that vitamin C as an antioxidant also
exert its radioprotective effect on many biological
systems, but in some studies no protective effect is
reported. Materials and Methods: Mice were injected
by small and nontoxic amount of vitamin C and
famotidine (3 and 2μg) inter-testicular 2 hours before
irradiating by gamma ray. 29 days after irradiation,
mice were sacrificed and testes were removed,
weighed and either fixed for histological study or
homogenized in 1.5 mL de-ionized water and 0.5 mL
SDS solution. Sperm head count was done under a
light microscope. Survival fractions were calculated
and plotted as a function of dose of gamma rays.
Results: The sperm head count in groups treated with
vitamin C and famotidine before gamma irradiation
show significant increase compared to groups only
irradiated by gamma rays (p<0.01). Values of
calculated dose reduction factor (DRF) are 2 and
2.68 for vitamin C and famotidine respectively. Both
vitamin C and famotidine could reduce radiation
induced pathological alterations in seminiferous
tubules. Conclusion: These results suggest that
vitamin C and famotidine have radioprotective
property and could reduce cytotoxic effect of radiation
in mouse spermatogenesis, one of the most radiosensitive
biological systems. The possible mechanism of
protection by famotidine and vitamin C might be
radical scavenging. The radioprotection index for
famotidine was found to be more than vitamin C.
Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2011 8(4): 223-230
Mahdavi M, Mozdarani H. Protective effects of famotidine and vitamin C against radiation induced cellular damage in mouse spermatogenesis process. Int J Radiat Res 2011; 8 (4) :223-230 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-684-en.html