Studies On The Combined Effects Of Lead And Ethanol On Sperm And Antagonistic Effects Of Selenium In Male Mice

Objective: Lead, one of the most common occupational toxicants, is widely used in industry. Lead is also one of most common environmental pollutant. Ethanol is the main ingredient of alcohol drinking. Lead and ethanol can influence the sperm quality through the reproductive toxicity. Recently, it was reported that most of male workers exposed to lead were addicted to drinking, and among them there was a higher frequency of lead poisoning. But there are only a few researches on combined effect of lead and ethanol on male reproductive system. In addition, it was observed that selenium, as a major component of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), was related to sperm quality closely. The detection of sperm quality that reflects the male reproductive function is widely carried on in clinic and research. Especially, the number, motility and deformity of sperm can be reflect the male fertility from various aspects respectively. LDH-x, an isozyme of human sperm-specific lactate dehydrogenase, is related to sperm motility and fertility as a key enzyme in energy metabolism of sperm. So, the present study was undertaken to clarify if lead and ethanol have combinedeffects on male reproductive system, To study the combined effects on sperm quality by lead and ethanol, and antagonism by selenium to provide some scientific basis for the revealment of reproductive toxicity mechanism of lead and ethanol as well as for the prevention and treatment of male infertility.Method: 84 male, mature and health mice were divided into 14 groups randomly, six mouse every group, including lead/ethanol : Low Lead (LL), High Lead (HL), Low Ethanol(LE), High Ethanol (HE), lead & ethanol (LL+LE,LL+HE,HL+LE,HL+HE), selenium & lead & ethanol and negative /positive control. Lead acetate and ethanol were given at the dosage of 15,30mg/Kg and 1000,2000mg/Kg body weight respectively through oral exposure for 5 days/week, one time/day for three weeks. Selenium was given at the dosage of 1mg/Kg body weight through ingestion paunch (ip) one hour ahead of lead exposure everyday. Distilled water was given at the same dosage in negative group. Cyclophosphanide(CP) was given at the dosage of 40mg/Kg body weight through ip for 5days in positive group. At the 35th day after first exposure, all animals were decapitated. The epididymis on one side was become sperm suspension, the other side was weighted, and counting organ index immediately. So the number and motility of sperm were checked in light microscope, the deformity of sperm was checked by eosin stain and countingthe percent. LDH-x activity was check by histochemical stain. All the data were analyzed by SPSS11.0.Result: 1.Among the treatment groups by lead or/and ethanol, the decreasing of general status in mice was observed such as diarrhoea. No significant changes were observed in the treatment groups by selenium and negative control. ï¼’.The weight of testis and testis index in every treatment group was not significant different from negative control (P>0.05). The weight and index of epididymis in HE group and HL+HE were decreased significantly compared with negative control. It suggested that the combined effect of lead and ethanol at massive dosage on the weight and index of epididymis could be more severity compared with single treatment by lead or ethanol, but synergism was not exist. The weight and index of testis and epididymis had no significant difference between selenium pre-treatment group and leadðanol treatment group. 3.In every treatment group by lead or ethanol, the number, motility and LDH-x activity of sperm were decreased compared with control, but sperm deformity was increased significantly compared with control except low ethanol treatment (P<0.05). Significant differences were observed between the high dosage and the low dosage (P<0.05). It implied that sperm quality was decreased with the increasing of lead and ethanol dosage . 4. In every treatment group by lead & ethanol, the number, motility, deformity and LDH-x activity in sperm were lowerthan...