The Effect of Nicotine on the Epididymis and Testis of Prepubertal Sprague Dawley Rats

Abstract

The majority of smokers begin tobacco use before they reach adulthood. Therefore, the effects of early administration of nicotine on the testes & epididymes were studied. Forty pre‐pubertal male Sprague Dawley albino rats 4 weeks age weighing between 40–65 grams were divided into 4 groups, each of 10 rats. G1 the control group injected with saline, G2 rats injected with nicotine with a dose of (6.25 ng/g) both groups injected for one week, G3 control group injected with saline and G4 injected with nicotine with a dose of (6.25 ng/g) both groups injected for two weeks. All groups were injected intraperitoneally. Results showed a significant decrease in the total weight gain (P<0.05) in G4. Histological studies of testes and epididymes showed different forms of degeneration in both G2 & G4. Plasma lipid profile showed a significant decrease in cholesterol (P≤0.01) and HDL‐C (P≤0.001) in both G2&G4, while triglyceride levels significantly increased (P<0.05) in G4. Plasma testosterone concentration showed a significant decrease in both G2 & G4 (P<0.05). However, FSH showed a significant decrease in concentration in G4 only. X‐ray microanalysis studies showed a significant increase in sodium in G2 (P<0.05) and G4 (P<0.001) in the testes while it significantly increased in the epididymis in G4 (P<0.01) only. These results indicates that nicotine exposure increase the risk of damage that occurs in the testes and epididymis with increasing the period of exposure.