Antifertility Effects of Sperm Impairing Factors Isolated from Bacteria in Male Mice

Abstract

Sperm immobilizing (SIF) and sperm agglutinating factor (SAF) (already isolated in our laboratory) from Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively, have shown 100 % infertility in female mice. These microbial factors neither induce any abnormalities in the vaginal cell morphology nor do they affect structural integrity of vaginal epithelium. Therefore, the present study was carried out to check any adverse effect of these factors on the reproductive potential of male mice. Mice were administered with SIF or SAF (10μg/20µl) intraperitoneally for a period of 7 days on alternate days. No treatment related mortality was observed during the experiment. The mice were sacrificed 48h post inoculation on days 3, 5 and 9 after intraperitoneal administration and the results in terms of change in body weight, seminal parameters, TSI and histology were studied. The results showed that male mice receiving SIF and SAF showed significant decrease in seminal parameters viz. sperm count, motility and viability w.r.t control mice. Histological studies of male mice revealed hypospermatogenesis and inflammation in the reproductive organs of treated mice while non reproductive organs showed normal histology. In conclusion, SIF/SAF upon intraperitoneal administration can lead to a pronounced decrease in male reproductive potential.