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The Effect of Nicotine on the Epididymis and Testis of Prepubertal Sprague Dawley Rats
Author(s) -
Ramadan Hana'a Mohammed,
Afifi Nahla M.,
AlNaemi Hamda
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.1123.11
Subject(s) - epididymis , endocrinology , medicine , nicotine , saline , chemistry , testosterone (patch) , triglyceride , sperm , cholesterol , andrology
The majority of smokers begin tobacco use before they reach adulthood. Therefore, the effects of early administration of nicotine on the testes & epididymes were studied. Forty pre‐pubertal male Sprague Dawley albino rats 4 weeks age weighing between 40–65 grams were divided into 4 groups, each of 10 rats. G1 the control group injected with saline, G2 rats injected with nicotine with a dose of (6.25 ng/g) both groups injected for one week, G3 control group injected with saline and G4 injected with nicotine with a dose of (6.25 ng/g) both groups injected for two weeks. All groups were injected intraperitoneally. Results showed a significant decrease in the total weight gain (P<0.05) in G4. Histological studies of testes and epididymes showed different forms of degeneration in both G2 & G4. Plasma lipid profile showed a significant decrease in cholesterol (P≤0.01) and HDL‐C (P≤0.001) in both G2&G4, while triglyceride levels significantly increased (P<0.05) in G4. Plasma testosterone concentration showed a significant decrease in both G2 & G4 (P<0.05). However, FSH showed a significant decrease in concentration in G4 only. X‐ray microanalysis studies showed a significant increase in sodium in G2 (P<0.05) and G4 (P<0.001) in the testes while it significantly increased in the epididymis in G4 (P<0.01) only. These results indicates that nicotine exposure increase the risk of damage that occurs in the testes and epididymis with increasing the period of exposure.