Preventative Effects of Vitamin E on Testicular Damage and Sperm Parameters in the First-Generation Mice Pups due to Pre- and Postnatal Mancozeb Exposure

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin E on mancozeb-induced testis damage of the first-generation pups during intrauterine and lactating periods. Two groups of pregnant NMRI mice received 500 mg/kg mancozeb (MNZ) as MNZ group and 200 mg/kg vitamin E as MNZ+vit.E group before receiving MNZ. In addition, a vehicle and a control group were designed every other day in gestation and lactation periods. The male pups from each group were maintained until adulthood (8-10 W). The left testes and epididymides were removed following the sacrifice of the pups. Then, they were weighed, and sperm parameters including number, viability, motility, and morphology and testis structure were evaluated. A significant decrease occurred in sperm parameters of the mancozeb-treated pups compared to the control and vehicle groups. Treatment with vitamin E reversed the deleterious effects of MNZ to a nearly normal condition. Testis parameters including the weight, gonadosomatic index, seminiferous tubule diameters, and Johnsen’s score, as well as the number of germ cells such as spermatogonia, spermatocyte, spermatid, and Sertoli, decreased significantly in the MNZ group, compared to the amount in the control and vehicle groups. Interestingly, the treatment with vitamin E was reversed in most of these parameters. Based on the results, the exposure of pups to mancozeb during pregnancy and lactating periods negatively affects the reproductive system of male pups. However, the coadministration of vitamin E could prevent the deleterious effects of mancozeb on sperm and testis parameters.

Evaluation of Some Male and Female Rats’ Reproductive Hormones Following Administration of Aspartame With or Without Vitamin C or E

“…Antioxidants, on the other hand, lower the chance of developing or progressing a variety of illnesses induced by oxidative stress, such as male and female infertility owing to testicular dysfunction and sperm production, as well as diminished reproductive hormone production (30). Vitamins C and E have antioxidant properties, which means they decrease the consequences of oxidative stress-related testicular abnormalities in animal tissues (31). Vitamin C protects cells by decreasing oxidative stress-induced cellular damage caused by (ROS), whereas vit E protects proteins from alkylation caused by electrophilic lipid peroxidation by neutralizing hydroperoxyl radicals (32).…”

Genetic and epigenetic modifications of F1 offspring’s sperm cells following in utero and lactational combined exposure to nicotine and ethanol

“…2 -D). The sperm viability rate was calculated as the number of unstained sperm cells (alive) to total counted sperm cells (white + red) × 100 96 . The sperm parameters were evaluated by an expert operator blinded to experimental groups.…”

Endocrine-disrupting activity of mancozeb

“…Specifically, oral exposure to MCZ also resulted in a significant alteration of testicular morphology, with Sertoli cells (38) and Leydig cells (39) degeneration in rodents being the most prevalent. Moreover, a significant reduction in testes size, seminiferous tubule diameter, and germ cell and Sertoli cell number was observed in mice exposed to MCZ in utero and during lactation (40), indicative of prenatal endocrine-disrupting effect of MCZ on the male reproductive system. MCZ exposure in male mice resulted in a significant decrease in basal plasma testosterone levels.…”