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COMPARISON OF AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN IN VIVO AND IN VITRO MEASURES OF TESTICULAR STEROIDOGENESIS AFTER ACUTE CADMIUM EXPOSURE IN THE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RAT
Citation:
Phelps, P. AND J. Laskey. COMPARISON OF AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN IN VIVO AND IN VITRO MEASURES OF TESTICULAR STEROIDOGENESIS AFTER ACUTE CADMIUM EXPOSURE IN THE SPRAGUE DAWLEY RAT. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/282 (NTIS PB90185257).
Description:
Previous reports have demonstrated that cadmium- (Cd-) induced testicular necrosis is an age-dependent process. However, little information exists on age-related intestitial cell (IC) damage in the rat after acute exposure to Cd. In this study in vitro and in vivo measures of testicular damage were utilized to compare the sensitivity of these measures and to further investigate age-related Cd-induced testicular damage. Testes, epididymides, and seminal vesicle weights, serum testosterone (sT), hCG-simulated sT, and basal and stimulated lC testosterone (T) production were compared in rats 21 d following an injection of 2 mg Cd/kg at 9,37,67, and 97 d of age. The only Cd-related change noted for immature rats was an 84% reduction in sT. n rats injected when 37 d old, hCG-stimulated sT and epididymides and seminal vesicle weights, although depressed, were not significantly altered. However, all other measurements were significantly depressed. All measures of testicular damage were significantly depressed in rats injected at 67 anin 97 d of age. Overall, in vitro measures were more sensitive indicators of Cd induced testicular damage than In vivo measures. However, sT and hCG-stimulated sT appeared to be useful indicators of Cd effects on the pituitary-gonadal axis. ICs from immature rats (9 d old) were unaffected by Cd exposure, while stimulated T reproduction in ICs from 37-, 67-, and 97-d-old animals was reduced at least 50%. The severity of Cd-induced testicular damage increased with age for all variables measured.