Seminiferous epithelium of rats with food restriction and carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis.
OBJECTIVE
Analyze the changes in the seminiferous epithelium in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis (CCl4).


METHODS
Forty-eight male Wistar rats aged 45-50 days, weighing 150-180 grams were used. Twenty-two rats underwent CCl4-induced cirrhosis with CCl4 0.25 mL/Kg weekly intragastrically once a week, during 10 weeks. Additionally, they had a 44% food restriction diet (Group 1). The control group was divided in two subgroups: 13 rats had a 44% food restriction diet and no CCl4 (Group 2) and 10 rats were not submitted to CCl4 or food restriction (Group 3). After 10 weeks, the rats were sacrificed and liver sections were collected for histological analysis. The testicular analysis was carried out to evaluate the frequency of tubules in stages VIII and XIV.


RESULTS
The mean rates of stage VIII in animals with food restriction plus CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction without CCl4 were significantly different from animals without either food restriction or CCl4 (18.1 +/- 5.5%, 20.5 +/- 2.5% and 13.4 +/- 3.5%, respectively, p = 0.002). The mean rate of stage VIII in rats with cirrhosis was not significantly different from rats without cirrhosis (18.1 +/- 5.5% and 17.4 +/- 4.6% respectively). The mean frequency of stage XIV in rats with cirrhosis was significantly greater than rats without cirrhosis (4.7 +/- 2.3% and 6.8 +/- 1.9% respectively, p = 0.027).


CONCLUSIONS
Animals with CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction have shown alterations in spermatogenic cycle that were not seen in rats without CCl4-induced cirrhosis and food restriction.
Horn
Marilise M
MM
Gene Therapy Center, General Hospital of Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. mmhorn@uol.com.br
Ramos
Ana R
AR
Winkelmann
Leonardo
L
Matte
Ursula S
US
Goldani
Helena A
HA
Silveira
Themis R
TR
D000818:Animals; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D005508:Food Deprivation; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012670:Seminiferous Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*
D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride