Relationship between reproductive toxicity and oxidative damage induced by diethylstilbestrol in adult male golden hamsters

摘要

To explore the relationship between reproductive toxicity and oxidative damage induced by diethylstilbestrol (DES), adult male golden hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus ) were treated with different dosages of DES (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1 mg/kg body weight) by subcutaneous injection for 7 consecutive days. Absolute and relative testicular weights were measured. Morphological changes in testes and spermatogenetic cells were observed in the light microscope. The contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total antioxide capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in testicular tissue and plasma were detected by spectrophotography. Results showed that testicular weight decreased significantly with increasing dosages of DES. Germ cells were scattered irregularly in seminiferous tubules and few mature sperms were observed in the lumens. As well as morphological changes, the antioxidant enzymes including SOD, GSH-Px and T-AOC in testicular tissue all decreased which led to the increase in MDA. It is concluded that there is a close relationship between reproductive toxicity of DES with reactive oxygen species (ROS). DES impairs the normal function of spermatogenic cells through decreasing antioxidase avtivity, resulting in the increases of ROS. These results indicate that oxidative damage may be one of the mechanisms of reproductive toxicity induced by environmental estrogens[ Acta Zoologica Sinica 53(6): 1076–1082, 2007].