Lead Exposure Causes Altered Spermiogenesis in Rats

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chapin R ; Childress C ; Moorman W ; Schrader, Steven M. ; Sharpnack D
• Description:
  Testicular lesions that might explain lead-induced decreases in sperm counts in man and laboratory animals have not been described. Male Dutch-Belted rabbits (n = 95) were divided into 8 groups and administered lead acetate subcutaneously to achieve and hold target blood lead levels (0, 20, 40, 50, 70, 80, 90, 110 microg/dl; n = 22, 15, 15, 7, 7, 15, 7, 7, respectively) for 15 weeks. Animals were then sacrificed and necropsied. Mean testis weight was not altered. When seminiferous tubules of lead-exposed rabbits were examined by light microscopy, membrane-bound cytoplasmic bodies (CBs), containing >1 elongate spermatid(s), were seen on the luminal surfaces of the germinal epithelium. CBs were most frequently found in tubules that were at the stage of spermatid release. No treatment effect on either the quantity or quality of Sertoli cells or pre-spermatid germinal cells could be detected by light microscopy. The percent of animals with CBs in each treatment group were (from control to high dose) : 0%, 7%, 33%, 43%, 43%, 47%, 14%, and 100%, respectively. Lead exposure to male rabbits causes a lesion in spermiogenesis which is characterized by retention of spermatid cytoplasm. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Laboratories Lead Lead Poisoning Occupational Health Safety Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System
• Keywords:
  Animal-studies Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Laboratory-animals Lead-poisoning Reproductive-effects Reproductive-hazards Reproductive-system Reproductive-system-disorders Toxic-materials Toxins

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• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences ; OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030615
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 1997 Mar; 36(1)(Pt 2):359
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Part Number:
  2
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 36th Annual Meeting, March 9-13, 1997, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dca729da40a08a95b2a37529383e74a84affd749c535f9985a5ab065f6d84777b7860957be5a9e5e42fc3511701f8ba062c03d49e2d0fffc71bf3cf0ae6dada3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191164/cdc_191164_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 156.49 KB ]