Effects of prenatal diclofenac sodium exposure on newborn testis: a histomorphometric study

Abstract

Diclofenac sodium (DS) is used primarily to treat fever and to alleviate pain and inflammation. We investigated the effects of DS exposure during gestation on the testes of rat pups to investigate the safety of its use during the prenatal period. Pregnant rats were separated into control, saline, low dose, medium dose and high dose groups. DS was given between weeks 15 and 21 of gestation. Total numbers of spermatogonia and Sertoli cells were counted in the testes of 7-day-old male rats using the physical disector method. By the end of the study, the total number of Sertoli cells was decreased significantly in a dose dependent manner in the medium and high dose groups compared to controls. No significant differences were found in the total number of spermatogonia in the control, saline and low dose DS groups. Medium and high dose DS administration reduced the total number of spermatogonia compared to other groups. We suggest that prenatal administration of DS can cause deleterious effects on the testis development, especially in high doses.

The effect of diclofenac sodium on neural tube development in the early stage of chick embryos

“…The fact that DS cross the placental barrier to prevent the biosynthesis of prostanoids and passes into the foetal circulation causes important side effects and sometimes malformations in newborns [12,29,45]. Some assays determined that the DS using throughout the perinatal period may cause teratogenic effects on some organs [3,6,16,19]. In addition; the use of DS during embryonic development of the central nervous system (CNS) can produce a wide array of neurological dysfunctions and neuroanatomical anomalies in animal models [9,22].…”

Using curcumin to prevent structural impairments of testicles in rats induced by sodium metabisulfite

“…These sections were prepared according to the “orientator method” (Figure 1(Fig. 1)) (Dorph-Petersen et al, 2001[8]; Tschanz et al, 2014[21]; von Bartheld, 2012[22]; Arslan et al, 2016[6]). Totally, 8-12 slabs were collected from each testicle.…”

“…Then, the slabs and circular pieces were processed, sectioned (4 and 25 µm thick), and stained with Heidenhain's Azan and Hematoxylin-Eosin (Figure 1(Fig. 1)) (Dorph-Petersen et al, 2001[8]; Tschanz et al, 2014[21]; von Bartheld, 2012[22]; Arslan et al, 2016[6]). The area of the circular piece and the degree of shrinkage “d (shr)” were calculated again:…”

“…The volume density “Vv(structure/testicle)” of the testicle (including tubules, germinal epithelium, and interstitial tissue) was estimated using “point-counting method” (Dorph-Petersen et al, 2001[8]; Tschanz et al, 2014[21]; von Bartheld, 2012[22]; Arslan et al, 2016[6]). The total volume of each structure was obtained using the following formula: …”

“…where ΣQ is the number of nuclei coming into focus, ΣA indicates the total area of the unbiased counting frame in all fields, “h” represents the “disector's height”, “t” is the mean section thickness, and finally BA indicates the microtome setting (Dorph-Petersen et al, 2001[8]; Tschanz et al, 2014[21]; von Bartheld, 2012[22]; Arslan et al, 2016[6]). The total number of the cells was estimated using this formula:…”