title: [Long-term exposure to PM2.5 from automobile exhaust results in reproductive dysfunction in male rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the effects of long-term exposure to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) from automobile exhaust on the reproductive function of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-five male SD rats, weighing 80 - 94 g and aged 28 days, were randomly assigned to receive intra-tracheal administration of 0.9% normal saline (control group, n = 15), PM2. 5 at 2 μg per 100 g body weight per day (low-dose PM2.5 group, n = 15), and PM2.5 at 16 μg per 100 g body weight per day (high-dose PM2.5 group, n = 15), qd, for 60 successive days. After the last 24-hour exposure, 10 rats were taken from each group for copulation with normal female ones, while the others were sacrificed, their testes removed for sperm count and deformity, pathological examination, and determination of the Connexin43 expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The conception rate was significantly decreased in the low- and high-dose PM2.5 groups as compared with that of the control (70% and 50% vs 100%), and so were the sperm count and quality. The rats in the PM2.5-exposed groups showed significantly disordered histological structure of the seminiferous tubules, reduced sperm count in the testicular lumen, some exfoliated secondary spermatocytes, downregulated Connexin43 expression in the testis, and damaged blood-testis barrier.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure to PM2.5 from automobile exhaust damages the reproductive function of male SD rats.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xi-ning
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Lian-ju
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Dong-yao
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jin-pu
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Jin-jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.lastname: Zhou Yue
authors.forename: Chun-lan
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Da-wei
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Xu-liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guang-hui
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001814:Blood-Testis Barrier; D001835:Body Weight; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005306:Fertilization; D008297:Male; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000633:toxicity*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012098:Reproduction; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules; D013076:Sperm Count; D013090:Spermatocytes; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D018031:Connexin 43; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions