Testicular Changes in Male Albino Rat Pups Exposed to Medroxy- Progesterone Acetate during Lactational Period

Abstract

There are great concerns regarding the use of synthetic progesterone during breastfeeding due to probable negative effects on future fecundity of male infants. Therefore the present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exposing male rat pups to depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) during lactational period on pubertal testicular histology, morphometry and cells quantitation. Twenty male Wistar rat pups reared to dams treated with DMPA (10 mg/ kg BW) every other day during their early lactation period; were employed to achieve the objectives of this study. Other 20 male rat pups reared to untreated dams served as control. The pups were allowed to reach 90 days old, sacrificed, their testes were dissected and weighed and histological sections were prepared. The results showed that exposing male rat pups to DMPA during the lactational period significantly (P<0.001) affected their testicular histology, morphometry and the quantities of testicular cells. The thickness of the germinal epithelium (GE) and the diameter of the seminiferous tubules (ST) were reduced; while the interstitial space (IS) thicknesses were increased. The testicular cells of the rats reared on dams treated with DMPA experienced varying degrees of apoptosis and count reduction. The ST appeared with unusual configuration with detached and/or folded basal lamina, it has few germinal layers, decreased Sertoli cells (SC) and their lumen contained cells debris and very few sperms; while the wide IS contained few Leydig cells (LC). Exposure to DMPA during the lactational period adversely affects the testicular structure. Thus foretells a negative impact on future fertility.