title: Prevention of di (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate-induced Testicular Disturbance in Mice by Co-administration of L-carnitine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used in the plastic industry and can induce reproductive toxicity. On the other hand, L-carnitine (LC) plays a crucial role in sperm metabolism and maturation. This study evaluates the effect of LC on body and testis weight, testis tissue, count, motility, viability, morphology, and chromatin quality of epididymal sperm, testicular spermatid number (TSN) per gram testis and daily sperm production (DSP) in LC-treated mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  IN THIS EXPERIMENTAL STUDY, ADULT MALE NMRI MICE (MEAN AGE: 4 weeks) were given doses of DEHP and LC by gavaging for 2 weeks. All samples were assessed according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Sperm morphology was assessed using Papanicolaou staining and sperm chromatin quality by aniline-blue staining. The left testes were fixed in Bouinś solution for histological examination and the end slices were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). The right testes were homogenized, and then TSN and DSP were calculated with an improved Neubauer haemocytometer and respective frames. Paired t-test, ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were utilized for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Co-administration of DEHP and LC not only prevented significant gains in testicular weight, but also maintained the sperm's normal morphology and chromatin quality (p<0.05). In addition, LC recovered histological changes, TSN, DSP, and sperm count.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrated that oral administration of LC partially or generally protects spermatogenesis from DEHP-toxicity in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zohre
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zare
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Moslem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Baqiatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eimani
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Majid Malekzadeh
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Shafaroudi
keywords: L-carnitine; Spermatogenesis; Testis; di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate
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