Diethylstilbestrol induces morphological changes in the spermatogonia, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells of adult rat.
It is now established that diethylstilbestrol (DES) has damaging effects on the male reproductive system. However, to date there have been no studies morphological analysis of adult rat testes upon treatment with DES. Here, we examined whether DES has any significant morphological effect on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis. DES was injected subcutaneously at 3 μg/day and 30 μg/day in adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for two different treatment lengths (1 or 3 weeks), after which rats were necropsied. TUNEL labeling, cell counting, and morphological analysis were used to evaluate the effects of DES. A high dose of DES and longer exposure severely affected the cellular development of the testis. Specifically, DES treatment disrupted both steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis by decreasing the number of spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, and Leydig cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Thus, DES may account for decreases in the number of spermatogenic cells, Sertoli cells and Leydig cells, which in turn may lead to reduced fertility in males.
['Rahman|Md Mahfujur|MM|', 'Wie|Jehyung|J|', 'Cho|Jeong-Hwi|JH|', 'Tae|Hyun-Jin|HJ|', 'Ahn|Dongchoon|D|', 'Lee|Seok Won|SW|', 'Kim|In-Shik|IS|', 'Park|Byung-Yong|BY|']
D000818:Animals D004054:Diethylstilbestrol D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal D007985:Leydig Cells D008297:Male D051381:Rats D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D012708:Sertoli Cells D013093:Spermatogonia
Morphology Spermatogonia Sertoli cells Leydig cells Adult rat Diethylstibestrol