title: Role of zinc in regulating the testicular function. Part 3. Histopathological changes induced by dietary zinc deficiency in testes of male albino rats.
abstract: Zinc deficiency affects the testicular tissues adversely. The testes of zinc-deficient rats showed variable degrees of degeneration compared to both control and zinc-supplemented ones. Initially, there was an early pronounced spermatic arrest followed by a series of degeneration of the cellular layers constituting the seminiferous tubules in the zinc-deficient rats. Degenerative changes were additionally demonstrated in the interstitial tissue cells of the zinc-deficient rats. These histopathological observations in testes of zinc-deficient rats run in parallel provide an additional support to our previous publications in which we recorded a significant reduction in both serum and testicular levels of testosterone in the same group of animals, since spermatogenesis in rodents appeared to depend primarily on testosterone level.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hafiez
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: el-Kirdassy
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: el-Malkh
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: el-Zayat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000473:pathology; D013087:Spermatids; D013090:Spermatocytes; D013093:Spermatogonia; D013094:Spermatozoa; D013737:Testis / Q000473:pathology*; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000172:deficiency*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc