Abarikwu Sunny O, Costa Guilherme M J, de Lima E Martins Lara Nathalia, Lacerda Samyra M S N, de França Luiz R
Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria.
Laboratory of Cellular Biology, Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Toxicology. 2021 May 15;455:152761. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2021.152761. Epub 2021 Mar 22.
Several studies have reported the effects of atrazine on the gonads of many experimental models. However, the short-term effects of in vivo exposure to atrazine on the testes of mice are not well clarified. Here we reported that adult BalB/c mice exposed to atrazine (50 mg kg body weight) by gavage for three consecutive days have reduced numbers of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase positive Leydig cells (LCs), associated with increased in situ cell death fluorescence and caspase-3 immuno-expression in the testes. Consequently, immunostaining for cell cycle gene regulators showed increased expressions of p45, accompanied with increased expressions of cyclin D2 and E2. Histological observations of the gonads showed reduced number of germ cells in particular areas, sloughed seminiferous epithelium, presence of giant apoptotic cells close to the seminiferous tubule lumen and in the epididymal lumen along with low numbers of Leydig cells in the testicular interstitial areas. Similarly, LCs isolated from the testes of BalB/c mice that were exposed to atrazine (0.5, 25, 50 mg kg body weight) in the same manner as in the first experiment presented dose-dependent increased caspase-3 activity, decreased cell viability, intratesticular and serum testosterone concentrations and LCs testosterone secretion. In summary, atrazine appears to directly decrease the number of testosterone secreting LCs in mice through apoptosis.
多项研究报道了阿特拉津对许多实验模型性腺的影响。然而，体内暴露于阿特拉津对小鼠睾丸的短期影响尚未完全阐明。在此我们报告，成年BalB/c小鼠连续三天经口灌胃给予阿特拉津（50毫克/千克体重）后，睾丸中3β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶阳性的睾丸间质细胞（LCs）数量减少，同时原位细胞死亡荧光和睾丸中caspase-3免疫表达增加。因此，细胞周期基因调节因子的免疫染色显示p45表达增加，同时细胞周期蛋白D2和E2表达增加。性腺的组织学观察显示，特定区域的生殖细胞数量减少，生精上皮脱落，靠近生精小管管腔和附睾管腔存在巨大凋亡细胞，同时睾丸间质区域的睾丸间质细胞数量减少。同样，以与第一个实验相同的方式暴露于阿特拉津（0.5、25、50毫克/千克体重）的BalB/c小鼠睾丸中分离出的睾丸间质细胞呈现出剂量依赖性的caspase-3活性增加、细胞活力降低、睾丸内和血清睾酮浓度降低以及睾丸间质细胞睾酮分泌减少。总之，阿特拉津似乎通过凋亡直接减少小鼠中分泌睾酮的睾丸间质细胞数量。
