Fig. 3

Sphingosine accumulation affects spermatogenesis in the testes of the prediabetic model. A The relative abundance of (a) sphingosine in serum of the three groups (n = 6). The relative abundance of (b) sphingomyelin (n = 3) and (c) sphingosine in testes of the three groups (n = 6). B The relative expression of (a) Sphk-1 (n = 4) and (b) Sgpl-1 (n = 4) in testicular tissues of the three groups. C (a) TUNEL staining of representative sections within testicular and epididymal tissues of the three groups, and the rate of TUNEL-positive cells in (b) testicular tubules (n = 3) and (c) epididymides (n = 3). D IHC staining for CASPASE-3, BAX, and BCL-2 in representative sections of testicular and epididymal tissue of the three groups. E (a) Western blot of Actived-CASPASE-3, Pro-CASPASE-3, BCL-2, BAX, and β-ACTIN in the three groups; the relative expression of (b) Actived-CASPASE-3/Pro-CASPASE-3 (n = 3) and (c) BAX/BCL-2 (n = 3) in the three groups