Male Reproductive Toxicity of Some Selected Metals: A Review

Mathur, Neeraj; Pandey, Geeta; Jain, Gourav

doi:10.3923/jbs.2010.396.404

Cited by 39 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…It is well known that testosterone plays a pivotal role in the regulation of structural and functional integrity of male reproductive organs (Foster, 1988) and the decrease in weights of these organs could be due to inadequate circulating male hormones. For example, exposure to lead acetate reduced the bioavailability of circulating testosterone, which was associated with a reduction in testes weight (Mathur et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian alterations of reproductive functional markers in male rats exposed to 1800 MHz radiofrequency field

Qin

Zhang²,

Cao

et al. 2013

Chronobiology International

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In this study, we explored the circadian effects of daily radiofrequency field (RF) exposure on reproductive functional markers in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals in circadian rhythm (as indicated by melatonin measurements), were divided into several groups and exposed to 1800 MHz RF at 205 μw/cm(2) power density (specific absorption rate 0.0405 W/kg) for 2 h/day for 32 days at different zeitgeber time (ZT) points, namely, ZT0, ZT4, ZT8, ZT12, ZT16 and ZT20. Sham-exposed animals were used as controls in the study. From each rat, testicular and epididymis tissues were collected and assessed for testosterone levels, daily sperm production and sperm motility, testis marker enzymes γ-GT and ACP, cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (p450cc) mRNA expression, and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) mRNA expression. Via these measurements, we confirmed the existence of circadian rhythms in sham-exposed animals. However, rats exposed to RF exhibited a disruption of circadian rhythms, decreased testosterone levels, lower daily sperm production and sperm motility, down-regulated activity of γ-GT and ACP, as well as altered mRNA expression of cytochrome P450 and StAR. All of these observations were more pronounced when rats were exposed to RF at ZT0. Thus, our findings indicate potential adverse effects of RF exposure on male reproductive functional markers, in terms of both the daily overall levels as well as the circadian rhythmicity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian alterations of reproductive functional markers in male rats exposed to 1800 MHz radiofrequency field

Qin

Zhang²,

Cao

et al. 2013

Chronobiology International

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“…The administered dose of 5 mg/kg bw (i.e., 15 mg/kg bw/wk) has been chosen based on previous studies which employed HgCl 2 doses of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg bw/day. These doses were optimal for the induction of testicular histopathological changes testes without observed toxicity [32] Animals in group IV were given S. platensis (300 mg/kg bw) by gavage for 10 consecutive days before mercuric chloride administration and continued up to 60 days along with HgCl 2 treatment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of Mercuric Chloride-Induced Testis Injuries and Sperm Quality Deteriorations by Spirulina platensis in Rats

et al. 2013

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The present study was undertaken to investigate the protective effect of the filamentous cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis (S. platensis) on mercury (II) chloride (HgCl2)-induced oxidative damages and histopathological alterations in the testis of Wistar albino rats. The animals were divided into four equal groups, i ) control, ii ) HgCl2, iii ) S. platensis and iv ) combination of HgCl2+S. platensis. Oxidative stress, induced by a single dose of HgCl2 (5 mg/kg, bw; subcutaneously, s.c.), substantially decreased (P<0.01) the activity level of testicular key enzymatic antioxidant biomarkers (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT and glutathione peroxidase, GPx), oxidative stress makers (blood hydroperoxide; testicular reduced glutathione, GSH and malondialdehyde, MDA), and testicular mercury levels. Moreover, HgCl2 administration resulted in a significant (P<0.01) increase in the number of sperms with abnormal morphology and decrease in epididymal sperm count, motility, plasma testosterone level and testicular cholesterol. Furthermore, HgCl2 exposure induced histopathological changes to the testis including morphological alterations of the seminiferous tubules, and degeneration and dissociation of spermatogenic cells. Notably, oral pretreatment of animals with Spirulina (300 mg/kg, bw) lowered the extent of the observed HgCl2-mediated toxicity, whereby significantly reducing the resulting lipid peroxidation products, mercury accumulation in the testis, histopathological changes of the testes and spermatozoal abnormalities. In parallel, the pretreatment with Spirulina also completely reverted the observed Hg-Cl2-induced inhibition in enzymatic activities of antioxidant biomarkers (SOD, CAT and GPx) back to control levels. The pretreatment of rats with S. platensis significantly recovered the observed HgCl2-mediated decrease in the weight of accessory sex organs. Taken together, our findings clearly highlight the role of S. platensis as a protective modulator of HgCl2-induced testicular injuries and suggest some therapeutic potential in mammals. Further investigation of therapeutic strategies employing Spirulina against heavy metals toxicity in humans is therefore warranted.

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“…However, there are scarce studies about cellular disorders and pathologies of this process in invertebrates, contrarily to in vertebrates. In the latter, the testis is a known target of PAHs and metals toxicity, experiencing disruption of spermatogenesis, degeneration, and loss of germ cell, and testicular atrophy (Ronis et al, 1996;Adhikari et al, 2001;Creasy and Foster, 2002;Dietrich and Krieger, 2009;El-Sayed and El-Neweshy, 2010;Mathur et al, 2010;Ebrahimi and Taherianfard, 2011;Creasy et al, 2012;Chandel and Jain, 2014).…”

Section: Gonadal and Histological Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gonadal Histopathological Disorders in Mytilus galloprovincialis Male Exposed to Tars Used in Mussel Farms

et al. 2019

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace metals are pollutants widely distributed in the marine environment with toxic effects on live organisms, but few laboratory studies have proved their causal relationship with histopathologic alterations from invertebrates. We analyse the histopathologic effects of a tar mixture used in mussel farms on the gonad of male mussels. Mussels were exposed to water-accommodated fractions from different sub-lethal concentrations of that tar mixture during different times. The accumulation of PAHs and metals in mussels was quantified in each one tar exposure condition, and a comparative histological and morphometric analysis of the male gonad was performed, as well as of the gametogenic disorders and the cellular pathologies induced. Spermatogenesis disruption and alterations of somatic and germinal cells were observed as a direct effect of treatment. The pathologies observed followed an increasing malignity sequence depending on dose and exposure time: spawning induction; arrest of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis; suppression of immune response; dysplasia of Sertoli and connective cells and finally, severe disorders of germinal cells. We demonstrate for the first time that tar used in waterproofing of floating rafts from the mussel farms causes severe effects on male mussel gonad, constituting a direct risk to the health of these organisms, affecting gametogenesis, quality of gametes and, ultimately, the sustainability of this resource and their quality for human consumption. Moreover, we propose the pathologies described in mussel as biomarkers of marine pollution and the mussel gonad as study model of testicular toxicity mechanisms in male reproduction.

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Male Reproductive Toxicity of Some Selected Metals: A Review

Cited by 39 publications

References 42 publications

Circadian alterations of reproductive functional markers in male rats exposed to 1800 MHz radiofrequency field

Circadian alterations of reproductive functional markers in male rats exposed to 1800 MHz radiofrequency field

Improvement of Mercuric Chloride-Induced Testis Injuries and Sperm Quality Deteriorations by Spirulina platensis in Rats

Gonadal Histopathological Disorders in Mytilus galloprovincialis Male Exposed to Tars Used in Mussel Farms

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