Diabetes is one of the most chronic and widespread diseases causing the damages to the male reproductive system. Nowadays, several studies have been performed to show the role of phenolic compounds in reducing the complications of diabetes. Carvacrol is a phenolic monoterpene which has been shown to have much therapeutic efficacy in various diseases. Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats (n = 8 in each group) were used in this experimental study. The induction of diabetes was performed using a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of STZ (50 mg/kg). Rats were assigned into the following groups: control group, diabetic group, diabetic group daily fed with carvacrol at a dose of 75 mg/kg for 8 weeks, and the control group daily fed with carvacrol at a dose of 75 mg/kg for 8 weeks. Treatment with carvacrol significantly improved the histological morphology of the testis, reduced the tissue activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzymes, and diminished the elevated levels of tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) (p < 0.05). Moreover, our results showed that carvacrol significantly decreased Bax and increased Bcl-2 at the levels of gene and protein expression. It also significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the rate of germ cell apoptosis. It seems that the treatment with carvacrol mitigates testicular tissue damage in diabetic rats possibly through its antioxidant properties.

MicroRNA-1 (miR-1) is a conserved miRNA with high expression in the muscle tissues. In humans, two discrete genes, MIRN1-1 and MIRN1-2 residing on a genomic region on 18q11.2 produce a single mature miRNA which has 21 nucleotides. miR-1 has a regulatory role on a number of genes including heat shock protein 60 (HSP60), Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) and Heart And Neural Crest Derivatives Expressed 2 (HAND2). miR-1 has critical roles in the physiological processes in the smooth and skeletal muscles as well as other tissues, thus being involved in the pathogenesis of a wide range of disorders. Moreover, dysregulation of miR-1 has been noted in diverse types of cancers including gastric, colorectal, breast, prostate and lung cancer. In the current review, we provide the summary of the data regarding the role of this miRNA in the normal development and the pathogenic processes.