Structural alterations in the seminiferous tubules of rats treated with immunosuppressor tacrolimus
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BioMed Central
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Structural alterations in the seminiferous tubules of rats treated with immunosuppressor tacrolimus Breno H Caneguim1, Paulo S Cerri2, Luís C Spolidório3, Sandra M Miraglia1 and Estela Sasso-Cerri*2 Address: 1Department of Morphology and Genetics, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil, 2Department of Morphology, Laboratory of Histology and Embryology, Dental School – São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil and 3Department of Physiology and Pathology, Dental School – São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara, Brazil Email: Breno H Caneguim - [email protected]; Paulo S Cerri - [email protected]; Luís C Spolidório - [email protected]; Sandra M Miraglia - [email protected]; Estela Sasso-Cerri* - [email protected] * Corresponding author
Published: 25 February 2009 Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2009, 7:19
doi:10.1186/1477-7827-7-19
Received: 29 September 2008 Accepted: 25 February 2009
This article is available from: http://www.rbej.com/content/7/1/19 © 2009 Caneguim et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract Background: Tacrolimus (FK-506) is an immunosuppressant that binds to a specific immunophilin, resulting in the suppression of the cellular immune response during transplant rejection. Except for some alterations in the spermatozoa, testicular morphological alterations have not been described in rats treated with tacrolimus. In the present study, we purpose to evaluate if the treatment with tacrolimus at long term of follow-up interferes in the integrity of the seminiferous tubules. Methods: Rats aging 42-day-old received daily subcutaneous injections of 1 mg/kg/day of tacrolimus during 30 (T-30) and 60 (T-60) days; the rats from control groups (C-30 and C-60) received saline solution. The left testes were fixed in 4% formaldehyde and embedded in glycol methacrylate for morphological and morphometric analyses while right testes were fixed in Bouin's liquid and embedded in paraffin for detection of cell death by the TUNEL method. The epithelial and total tubular areas as well as the stages of the seminiferous epithelium and the number of spermatocytes, spermatids and Sertoli cells (SC) per tubule were obtained. Results: In the treated groups, seminiferous tubules irregularly outlined showed disarranged cellular layers and loss of germ cells probably due to cell death, which was revealed by TUNEL method. In addition to germ cells, structural alterations in the SC and folding of the peritubular tissue were usually observed. The morphometric results revealed significant decrease in the number of SC, spermatocytes, spermatids and significant reduction in the epithelial and total tubular areas. Conclusion: Tacrolimus induces significant histopathol
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