The Effects of DBP on apoptosis of spermatogenic cells of rat tostis

Objective:To investigate the occurrence of germ cell apoptosis after aniso-doses dibutyl phthalate( DBP )administration in the testes of the adult male rats.Methods:32 healthy male Sprague-Dawle rats were divided randomly into four groups and they were administered respectively with 0 (control group)、250、500、1 000 mg/kg body weight of DBP by intragastric administration consecutively for 4 weeks. The numbers of testicular sperm head were counted and the coefficient of testicular viscera,daily sperm production was calculated in every group.The apoptosis of germ cell were assessed by in situ terminal deoxynucleotityl transferase mediated dTUP nick end labeling( TUNEL) technique and methyl green-pyronin staining method.Results:①In the testes of DBP-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 control(P0.05);②the apoptosis index of germ cell(AI) significantly increased compared with that in the control group (P0.01);③There were negative correlation between the apoptosis index of germ cell(AI) and the content of serum arsenic (r=-0.542,P0.01).Conclusions:By increasing of the apoptosis spermatogenic cell and decreasing sperm production in male rats,DBP may give rise to male reproduction toxicity.the increasing apoptosis numbers of spermatogenic cells may play an important role in leading to subfertility.