The effect of the metabolic syndrome on the histological structure of the testes tissue and the sperm morphology in the rats

Authors: AYŞE ALKANDURUR, ŞADİYE KUM

Abstract: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of metabolic syndrome on spermatozoon morphology and histological, histochemical, histomorphometric changes in the testes. Twenty-four male Sprague Dawley rats (60 day-olds) were used for this purpose. The rats in the control group were fed only water and rat food, while the rats in the experimental group were fed with water containing 20% D-fructose and rats food for 16 weeks with ad libitum. At the end of the experimental period, the testes and epididymis of the rats were removed. The testes were embedded in paraffin by performing the necessary histological procedure. In the rat testes with metabolic syndrome, subbasal vacuolization, epithelial vacuolization, desquamation of germinal cells in the epithelium, the presence of germ cells across to tubular lumen for increased. Seminiferous tubule diameter was increased but the epithelial height of the tubules was decreased in the experimental group significantly. It was noted that the basement membrane surrounding the tubules and the capillary wall was thickened in rats with metabolic syndrome. In addition to these findings, apoptotic cells were increased in the experimental group compared to the the control group. It was observed that the rate of abnormal and dead spermatozoa increased. In this study, we determined the negative effects on the testes of the incidence is increasing day by day with metabolic syndrome. Due to its connection with male infertility, it is thought that more comprehensive studies will contribute to the development of scientific data.

Keywords: Apoptotic cells, histology, metabolic syndrome, rat, testes

Full Text: PDF