It is well established that spermatogenesis is sensitive to environmental toxicants, particularly EDCs (Alam et al. Spermatogenesis represents a complex and dynamic process, and its development is hinged on precisely timed events (Hess and Franca 2009). In most mammalian models, PEs, including di (n-butyl) phthalate (DBP), are known to induce testicular injury and adversely affect testicular differentiation and spermatogenesis by provoking germ cell loss, altered Leydig cell function and testicular atrophy (Ge et al. Numerous wildlife species and humans are currently exposed to a wide variety of potential endocrine disrupters (ED), and at concentrations that produce varying effects due to species differences in the endocrine regulation of reproduction (Ito et al. PEs are also known as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) owing to their ability to modulate the endocrine system and thereby cause adverse effects on reproductive processes in humans and wildlife species in the environment (Diamanti-Kandarakis et al. Graphical AbstractĬomponents used in plastics, such as phthalate esters (PEs) are present in most consumer products including children’s toys and body care products (Hubinger and Havery 2006 Schettler 2006 Andrady and Neal 2009 Perico et al. Taken together, these findings indicate that pre-pubertal exposure of precocious quail birds to DBP, produced parameter-specific histometric tubular changes, as well as dose-dependent cyto-structural derangement of the Leydig cells which consequently may lead to overt reproductive impairments in the adult bird in the environment. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER) was less obvious, compacted, and wedged between the abundant lipid droplets and mitochondria. There was a preponderance of electron-lucent lipid droplets which crowded out the normal organelles of the cell, as well as increases in the number of dense bodies in the cytoplasm. The lowest DBP doses (1 and 10 mg/kg) did not produce significant effects on Leydig cell ultrastructure, whereas, at the highest doses (200 and 400 mg/kg), the Leydig cells were remarkably conspicuous in the interstitium and appeared foamy. Ultrastructurally, apparent dose-specific degenerative changes were observed in the Leydig cells. Generally, significant decreases in seminiferous tubular diameter (STD) and epithelial height (SEH) were observed predominantly at the highest DBP doses (200 and 400 mg/kg), as compared to medium (50 mg/kg), and lowest doses (1 and 10 mg/kg) as well as the control group. In the present study, we investigated the effects of DBP in the testes of adult male quails ( Coturnix cortunix japonica) exposed by oral gavage to variable doses of DBP (0, 1, 10, 50, 200, and 400 mg/kgbw −d), for 30 days during the prepubertal period, using histo-morphometric and ultrastructural techniques. Phthalate esters, such as di(n-butyl) phthalate, (DBP), are synthetic chemical pollutants commonly used as plasticizers in the manufacture of plastics.
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