Study of As2O3 on Apoptosis of Spermatogenic Cells of Rat Testis

[Objective] The research aimed to investigate the effect of different doses of arsenic(As2O3) on apoptosis of germ cell in the testis of the adult male rats.[Methods] 40 healthy male Sprague-Dawle rats were divided randomly into four groups and they were administered respectively with 0(control group),0.375,0.750,1.500 mg/kg As2O3 by intragastric administration consecutively for 16 weeks.The numbers of testicular sperm head were counted.And the coefficient of testicular viscera and daily sperm production were calculated in every group.The apoptosis of spermatogenic cells were assessed by in situ terminal deoxynucleotityl transferase mediated dTUP nick end labeling(TUNEL) technique and methyl green-pyronin staining method.[Results] In the testis of As2O3 treated rats,the coefficient of testicular viscera,the number of testicular sperm head and daily sperm production in mid and large doses group decreased significantly than that of the control group.The apoptosis index(AI) of spermatogenic cells increased significantly compared with that of the control group(P0.01).There were negative correlation between the apoptosis index(AI) of spermatogenic cells and the content of serum arsenic(r=-0.563,P0.01).[Conclusions] As2O3 could give rise to male reproduction toxicity by promoting the spermatogenic cell apoptosis and restraining sperm production in male rats.