Lead chloride affects sperm motility and acrosome reaction in mice

Abstract

Lead is highly toxic and persistent in the environment and, thus, a major concern for public health. In this study, the effects of lead chloride (PbCl2) on mouse epididymal sperm were evaluated. Male mice were subcutaneously injected with 74 and 100 mg PbCl2/kg body weight for four consecutive days. Sperm was collected from the epididymis and several parameters of sperm function, such as sperm density, motility, viability, mitochondrial function, acrosome integrity and morphology, were evaluated. Furthermore, DNA fragmentation was assessed by the terminal deoxylnucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay and chromatin integrity was evaluated by sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). In order to assess direct effects on existing sperm population, we sacrificed one group for each condition at day 5. The effects of lead upon one entire spermatogenic cycle were evaluated on day 35. Both lead concentrations used in this work affected sperm motility, although no significant differences were observed in sperm viability, mitochondrial function and DNA/chromatin integrity. However, a decrease in the percentage of intact acrosomes was also observed, mirroring a lead-induced premature acrosome reaction. Thus, the results obtained indicate that, together with impaired motility, the effect of lead toxicity on acrosome integrity, leading to premature reaction, may compromise the ability of sperm to fertilize the oocyte.

Firpronil induced spermotoxicity is associated with oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis in male rats

“…In the present study, we observed a reduction in the percentage of intact acrosome in sperms after 4 weeks of FPN treatment. This is analogous to previous reports in rats and mice exposed to lead [29,40]. We also showed that FPN caused significant decrease in sperm counts, and enhanced head abnormality as compared to control.…”

“…Acrosome integrity was determined as per the method described by Oliveira et al [29]. An aliquot of sperm in MT6 medium was fixed in 5% formaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 30 min at 23°C.…”

“…SCSA was performed for assessment of sperm DNA integrity according to method described by Oliveira et al [29]. Briefly, a 100 μL sperm suspension was treated with 200µl of acid detergent solution (0.1% Triton X-100, 0.15 mol/l NaCl and 0.08 mol/l HCl; pH 1.…”

Cadmium toxicity at low concentration on rabbit spermatozoa motility, morphology and membrane integrityin vitro

“…Decrease in the percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology in mice exposed to 2 and 3 mg CdCl 2 /kg bw was correlated with a significant increase in abnormal head morphology after 24 h and an increase in abnormal head and tail morphology after 35 days. [59] Correlation between the increase in cadmium concentration in the human blood and spermatozoa abnormal morphology was also reported. [29] A decrease in the percentage of mouse spermatozoa with normal morphology injected with 1 mg CdCl 2 /kg bw was found; the percentage of cells with normal morphology positively correlated with the percentage of cells with intact acrosome 24h and 35 days after cadmium administration.…”

Lead Inhibits Human Sperm Functions by Reducing the Levels of Intracellular Calcium, cAMP, and Tyrosine Phosphorylation

“…In animal models, lead exposure can decrease mouse sperm counts and increase the proportions of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology after a single intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg lead acetate per kg of body weight (Acharya et al 2003). Lead can also affect mouse sperm motility and acrosome integrity after subcutaneous injections of 100 mg lead chloride per kg body weight for 4 consecutive days (Oliveira et al 2009). Oral administration of 6 mg lead acetate per kg body weight per day to rats for 8 weeks significantly reduced epididymal sperm counts and motility, and caused abnormal sperm morphology (Jegede et al 2015).…”