Testicular and epididymal morphometric assessment of adult rats, after the recovery period post-treatment with nicotine, alcohol and anabolic steroid

• Grant number: 14/06159-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2014
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Embryology
• Principal Investigator: Isabel Cristina Cherici Camargo
• Grantee: Lucas Solla Mathias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Are widely reported in the scientific literature the side effects that alcohol, nicotine and anabolic androgenic steroids promote in the male reproduction, especially in testicular structure and fertility. Although the use of synthetic steroids is associated to the use of other substances, licit or not, little is known about reproductive injuries caused by the combination of these substances. The goal this study is investigate the first time, the reversibility of side effects promoted by simultaneous or isolated use of alcohol, nicotine and synthetic steroid in the testes and epididymides of rats, using a quantitative evaluation (morphometric analysis). Male Wistar rats (n = 42) are divided into seven groups: a) Control I (distilled water, orally ) b) Control II (saline solution , subcutaneously), c) Control III (water and saline) ; d ) treated with a synthetic mixture of testosterone esters (7.5 mg / kg body weight, subcutaneously), e) treated with alcohol (3.5 g / kg body weight of 25% ethanol, orally ); f ) treated with nicotine (2.0 mg / kg body weight, subcutaneously), g) treated simultaneously with the three drugs. The treatment will be carried out during 15 consecutive days and after this period, the animals will be kept for 30 days in recovery. At the end of this recovery period, the rats will be sacrificed and the reproductive organs collected and weighed. Histological sections of testes and epididymides, stained with hematoxylin and eosin, will be analyzed in light microscopy using a microscope connected to a scanner imaging system for obtaining morphometric parameters.