Exposure to arsenic induces histomorphological alterations in testis of rabbits
Riaz Hussain Pasha1*, Anas Sarwar Qureshi2, Adnan Ali3, Saif-Ur-Rehman4, Muhammad Akram Khan5
1Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences (Histology), Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
2Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
3Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Project, Technical Unit-Building Disaster Resilience in Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan
4Department of Parasitology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
5Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Abstract
With the expansion and development of industrial technology, frequent application of various synthetic chemicals like pesticides, insecticides and arsenic has led to contamination of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem across the globe. Among different synthetic chemicals arsenic poisoning has become a huge threat to ground water in many parts of the world. Therefore, this study was planned to examine the adverse effects of sodium arsenite on the morphology (gross and microscopic structure) of testis in rabbits. A total of 20 adult male rabbits were procured and randomly divided into two groups. Group (A) served as control and rabbits in group (B) were exposed to sodium arsenite orally (@ dose of 10mg/kg/day for a period 60 days. Results indicated significant (p<0.05) lower values of testicular weight, scrotal length and width, testicular volume, volume occupied by 10 seminiferous tubules and volume of the individual Leydig cells in treated rabbits. The exposure induced degenerative changes in testis including wavy contour of seminiferous tubules, vacuolization in the germinal epithelium and germ cell loss was recorded in the treated group. In conclusion, it was observed that arsenic may induce male reproductive effects by negatively affecting the testicular volume, Leydig cell population and volume of the Leydig cells.
