Protective effect of selenium in prednisolone testicular toxicity

AbstractThe most common side effects of corticosteroids are adrenal suppression and the subsequent complications that can be attributed to testicular tissue degradation and dysfunction. Selenium or sodium selenite concentration indicates the protective role of this rare element and its related enzymes during spermatogenesis. The concentration of selenium in testis is regulated by a homeostatic mechanism that precedes the capacity of selenium in male gonads from other tissues. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the protective effects of selenium on tissue structure and performance of testis in mice. In this research, 40 NMRI mice were treated in 5 groups (each including 8 mice) for 8  weeks under darkness–lightness conditions (12–12) at 25 C. The study groups were control group, prednisolone control group (1.5 mg/kg), prednisolone control group (2.5 mg/kg), and two treatment groups with selenium (0.2 mg/kg). Data resulting from investigation of sperm parameters and histo logical studies were analyzed using ANOVA software. The results showed that the group treated with sodium selenite along with prednisolone showed a significant decrease in testicle weight (P <  0.05). In surveying the average of sperm number in the groups treated with prednisolone and sodium selenite, it was shown that prednisolone at concentrations of 1.5 and 2.5 mg/kg can decrease the number of sperm production, which is a significant difference compared to the control and...
Source: Comparative Clinical Pathology - Category: Pathology Source Type: research