1–3 months after STZ injection (Amaral et al., 2009; Prabhu et al.,
2010), suggesting that STZ-induced oxidative damage in germ cells was not sufficient to increase the Prdx 4 gene expression until
2 weeks after STZ injection. No significant difference in the semi- niferous tubule abnormality between water + STZ group, and STZ group also supports this idea (Fig. 3). Though the SME diet for
2 weeks before STZ injection mitigated the decrease in NR5A1 and StAR expression and thus the steroidogenic activity in Leydig cells, the Prdx 4 gene expression by oxidative stress in germ cells was not significantly changed until 2 weeks after STZ injection regardless of the SME intake.