Pre- and postnatal exposure to low-dose diesel exhaust impairs murine spermatogenesis.
We investigated whether pre- and postnatal low-dose exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) affects male reproductive function in mice. The DE concentration is less than that indicated as the environmental quality standard for suspended particulate matter (SPM) in Japan. ICR mice were exposed prenatally to low-dose diesel exhaust (0.17 mg of DE particles/m³) through the airway for 8 h/day in an exposure chamber from gestational day 2 until the examination. In the DE-exposed groups, normal sperm morphology in the epididymis was reduced (p < 0.01), and seminiferous tubules showed degenerative changes in which the number of Sertoli cells was decreased (p < 0.01). Those changes were observed at 6 and 12 weeks of age. Furthermore, ultrastructural studies revealed an increase in damaged mitochondria in Sertoli cells (p < 0.001) and variform spermatozoa. These results indicate that pre- and postnatal exposure of low-dose DE is detrimental to Sertoli cell function and may cause abnormal spermatozoa.
Research Center for Health Science of Nano-particles, Research institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Yamasaki, Noda, Chiba, Japan.
Miyoko
M
Kubo-Irie
Shigeru
S
Oshio
Yuichiro
Y
Niwata
Aki
A
Ishihara
Isamu
I
Sugawara
Ken
K
Takeda
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions