Inhaled vanadium pentoxide decrease gamma-tubulin of mouse testes at different exposure times.
Vanadium is an important environmental and industrial pollutant whose concentrations have increased in the last decades. Due to its status as reproductive toxicant and a microtubule damaging agent, the present study investigated by immunohistochemistry the effect of the inhalation of vanadium pentoxide on gamma-tubulin within somatic and testicular germ cells. Male mice inhaled vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) (0.02 M) 1 h/twice a week for 12 weeks. Our results demonstrated that vanadium accumulates in the testes starting with the initial inhalation (24 h), and this pattern remained until the last week of treatment. In general, vanadium was capable of significantly decreasing the percentage of gamma-tubulin in all analyzed testicular cells (Sertoli, Leydig and germ cells) starting with the first week of treatment. For all cell types studied, regression analysis revealed a negative and significant relationship between the percentage of immunopositive cells to gamma-tubulin and exposure time, showing a time dependent response in all cases. Our findings suggest that alterations on this protein might imply changes in microtubule-involved function such as cell division, which in the testes might lead to damage in the spermatogenesis, leading probably to infertility.
Mussali-Galante
Patricia
P
Departamento de Biologia Celular y Tisular, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City.
Rodríguez-Lara
Vianey
V
Hernández-Tellez
Beatriz
B
Avila-Costa
Maria Rosa
MR
Colín-Barenque
Laura
L
Bizarro-Nevarez
Patricia
P
Martínez-Levy
Gabriela
G
Rojas-Lemus
Marcela
M
Piñón-Zarate
Gabriela
G
Saldivar-Osorio
Liliana
L
Diaz-Beck
Patricia
P
Herrera-Enríquez
Miguel Angel
MA
Tovar-Sánchez
Efraín
E
Fortoul
Teresa I
TI
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors; D014404:Tubulin / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D017968:Vanadium Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D014404:Tubulin; D017968:Vanadium Compounds; C066075:vanadium pentoxide