Effect of Cr(VI) Exposure on Sperm Quality: Human and Animal Studies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Castranova, Vincent ; Chen C ; Chen Q ; Ernst E ; Li H ; Li L ; Li S ; Shi X ; Vallyathan V ; Wang L ; Yao W
• Description:
  The semen status of male workers occupationally exposed to hexavalent chromium(VI) was investigated. Sperm counts from exposed workers were 47.05+/-2.13 x 10(6)/ml and those from control group 88.96+/-3.40 x 10(6)/ml. Sperm motility decreased from 81.92+/-0.41% for the control group to 69.71+/-0.93% for the exposed workers. The levels of zinc, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lactate dehydrogenase C4 isoenzyme (LDH-x) in seminal plasma for the exposed workers were 1.48+/-0.07 micromol/ml, 1.05+/-0.02 x 10(3) U, and 0.47+/-0.01 x 10(3) U, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of 5.72+/-0.15 micromol/ml, 1.49+/-0.02 x 10(3) U, and 0.78+/-0.15 x 10(3) U for the control group, respectively. Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (7.34+/-0.34 x 10(-3) IU/ml) in serum from the exposed workers was significantly higher than that (2.41+/-0.08 x 10(-3) IU/ml) from the control group. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in semen volume, semen liquefaction time, luteinizing hormone (LH) level in serum, and Cr concentration in both serum and seminal plasma between the exposed workers and the control group. Feeding Cr(VI) to rats significantly reduced the epididymal sperm counts from 87.40+/-3.85 x 10(6)/g epididymis in control group to 21.40+/-1.20 x 10(6)/g epididymis at a CrO(3) dose of 10 mg/kg body weight and to 17.48+/-1.04 x 10(6)/g epididymis at a CrO(3) dose of 20 mg/kg body weight. Exposure of rats to Cr(VI) also significantly increased the sperm abnormality from 2.75+/-0.06% in the control group to 6.68+/-0.32% in the exposed group at a CrO(3) dose of 10 mg/kg body and to 7.6+/-0.15% at a CrO(3) dose of 20 mg/kg body weight. In exposed rats, there was visible disruption in germ cell arrangement near the walls of the seminiferous tubules. The diameters of seminiferous tubules in exposed rats were smaller. These results suggest that occupational exposure to chromium(VI) leads to alteration of semen status and may affect the reproductive success of exposed workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Chromium Demography Environmental Monitoring Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Sex Characteristics Spermatogenesis Urogenital Diseases Urogenital System

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• Keywords:
  Animal-studies Author Keywords: Cr(V) Exposure Chromium-compounds Demographic-characteristics Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Humans In-vivo-studies Laboratory-animals Occupational-exposure Reproductive-effects Reproductive-system Reproductive-system-disorders Reproductive Toxicology Sex-factors Spermatozoa Sperm Quality Workers

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• ISSN:
  0003-4878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  45
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021791
• Citation:
  Ann Occup Hyg 2001 Oct; 45(7):505-511
• Contact Point Address:
  Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, NIOSH, 1095 Willowdale Road Morgantown WV 26505, USA
• Email:
  xas0@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chromic trioxide (CAS RN 1333-82-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:44c3b74930b8dc365017a144392366f242dcc7292c147c27ffae1f15fd267cd5f660ac2b381b167d735fb29f12be553b7ce2af328b0c23a419807ab56292a253
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/198896/cdc_198896_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.68 MB ]