title: The effects of orchidectomy on toxicological responses to dietary ochratoxin A in Wistar rats.
abstract: Ochratoxin A (OTA) causes pathological lesions in the organs of animals. Males are more sensitive to OTA exposure than females but the reasons for this are unknown. The objective of this study was to explore the role of testosterone in male rats with OTA-related pathogenesis. To test the effect of testosterone on OTA toxicity, the testes of a group of rats were surgically removed. Male and female rats (approximately 300 and 200 g) were fed with OTA-contaminated feed (initially approximately 300 μg kg(-1) b.w. per day) for 24 weeks. The organs of all the animals were collected and their organ lesion pathology, caspase-3 expression, OTA plasma and organ concentrations and total plasma testosterone concentrations were evaluated. OTA treatment created serious lesions in the kidney, liver and testes of rats. The major histopathological changes in the kidney and liver were karyomegaly, hemorrhages and vacuolization. In the testes, there was a marked decrease in the amount of spermatozoon. The degrees of organ lesion were evaluated and the castrated males had the lowest kidney and liver lesion scores, indicating that testosterone reduction in males dramatically reduces OTA-related organ damage. The plasma OTA levels for the intact males, the castrated and the females were 6.34, 8.42 and 12.5 μg ml(-1), respectively. In conclusion, despite the similar plasma OTA levels of the intact and castrated males, OTA is less toxic in the castrated males. Therefore, the well-known gender specific toxicity of OTA seems to be related to the testosterone levels of rats.
authors.affiliation: Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 15030 Burdur, Turkey. Electronic address: fmor@mehmetakif.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Firdevs
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Section, 07058 Antalya, Turkey. Electronic address: mkilic@akdeniz.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Mehmet A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kilic
authors.affiliation: Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Pathology, 15030 Burdur, Turkey. Electronic address: ozlemozmen@mehmetakif.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozmen
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Section, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; Akdeniz University, Faculty of Aquaculture, Department of Fishery, 07058 Antalya, Turkey. Electronic address: myilmaz@akdeniz.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Mesut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Department of Chemistry, 07058 Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilknur
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eker
authors.affiliation: Akdeniz University, Science Faculty, Department of Biology, Molecular Biology Section, 07058 Antalya, Turkey; Ministry of Agriculture, State Food Safety Laboratory, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uran
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009793:Ochratoxins / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D009919:Orchiectomy; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013737:Testis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D009793:Ochratoxins; C025589:ochratoxin A; D013739:Testosterone; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Kidney; Ochratoxin A; Orchidectomy; Pathology; Testosterone; Toxicology; Wistar rat