Recovery of normal testis function and sperm motility after cessation of gossypol treatment in hamster.

The present investigations evaluate the reversibility of the effect of gossypol on the histoarchitecture of the hamster testis and the motility of the vas deferens spermatozoa. Adult male hamsters of proven fertility were treated orally with gossypol (10 mg/kg/day) for 13 weeks (group III). Another group of animals in the Group IV were given gossypol (10 mg/kg/day) for 13 weeks and were sacrificed 13 weeks after termination of the drug treatment. Animals in groups I and II were given vehicle and served as controls for groups III and IV respectively. To all the animals, gossypol or vehicle was administered by oral intubation. A marked reduction in the spermatozoa motility was observed in the animals of group III. In contrast, the motility of the spermatozoa in the animals of group IV (recovery phase) was in the normal range. A large number of seminiferous tubules were affected by gossypol treatment (group III); these tubules showed degeneration of germ cells, vacuolization and loosening of the germinal epithelium. In the quantitative analysis of the spermatogenic events, the ratio of resting spermatocyte/'A' type spermatogonia was not affected but the ratios of pachytene spermatocytes/resting spermatocytes and stage 19 spermatids/stage 7 spermatids decreased by 21%, 47% and 52% respectively. The tubular diameter and germinal height were decreased by 14% and 33% respectively. In group IV, hamsters were allowed to recover from the gossypol treatment. The seminiferous tubules exhibited normal histoarchitecture and the tubular diameter and germinal height recovered markedly. Recovery in different stages of spermatogenic cycle was evidently clear in this group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)