Protective Effect of DA-9401 in Finasteride-Induced Apoptosis in Rat Testis: Inositol Requiring Kinase 1 and c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Pathway

The study investigated the protective effects of DA-9401 against finasteride-induced toxicity in male Sprague Dawley rats. Forty rats were divided into four groups: control, finasteride, finasteride + DA-9401 (100 mg/kg), and finasteride + DA-9401 (200 mg/kg). Over 90 days, finasteride treatment led to reduced fertility, increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and higher apoptotic markers in testicular tissue. However, co-administration of DA-9401 mitigated these adverse effects, as evidenced by improved genital organ weights, sperm parameters, and histological assessments. The study concluded that DA-9401 could counteract finasteride-induced reproductive toxicity by reducing ER stress and apoptosis.