Zinc-nanoparticles alleviate the testicular damage of rat�s fetuses maternally induced with bacterial lipopolysaccharides

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a major component of Gram-negative bacteria and are released when bacterial death occurs. LPS has detrimental effects on development, including embryonic resorption and intrauterine fetal death, and intrauterine growth retardation. Exposure to LPS during gestation is a major causative factor for zinc deficiency, which results in poor development of foetuses. This work aims to evaluate the therapeutic role of zinc nanoparticles (Zn-NPs) instead of traditional zinc against testicular damage in rat offspring maternally induced with LPS. 24 pregnant rats were allocated into four groups at random: control, Zn-NPs, LPS, and LPS +Zn-NPs groups. After birth, the male offspring for each group were kept with their mothers till weaning day (post-natal day 21; PND21). At PND 21, the offspring were sacrificed, dissected, and the testes removed for histological and biochemical investigation. The results revealed that LPS during early gestation is implicated in the reduction of body weight in male offspring (at post-natal days 1, 7, 14, and 21) and remarkable histopathological signs in their testicular sections. Additionally, the testicular sections appeared strongly expressed for caspase-3 protein and negatively stained for Bcl-2 proteins, which indicated the apoptotic effect of LPS. Also, the testicular antioxidants (SOD and CAT) appeared significantly lowered, while the levels of MDA and caspase-3 appeared significantly higher in LPS-maternally induced offspring if compared with controls. On the other hand, treatment of mother’s rats with Zn-NPs from day 14 of gestation until weaning successfully alleviated the histopathological, apoptotic and biochemical changes in the testicular tissue induced by LPS.