Effect of flutamide on the testis and accessory sex glands of the musk shrew, Suncus murinus L.

Administration (100 mg/kg body weight/day, for 14 and 21 days) of flutamide induced duration-dependent regressive changes in the male reproductive organs. The seminiferous tubules in drug-treated shrews exhibited marked regressive changes with suppression of spermatogenesis; the tubules were devoid of spermatozoa and contained Sertoli cells and spermatogonia. However, there was no change in testicular weight, Leydig cell appearance and the concentrations of testicular protein, RNA and DNA in drug-treated animals. Epididymal spermatozoa from drug-treated shrews were immotile and fragmented. The drug also induced regressive histological changes in the ampullary gland and prostate accompanied by significant decrease in the weight; the level of fructose in the ampullary gland was also significantly reduced. Flutamide-induced alterations in the reproductive organs were reversible; by 56 days after drug withdrawal the organs returned to their normal state.