The effect of PM2/5 exposure on Hormonal changes, sperm DNA fragmentation and Aquaporin9 gene methylation in Wistar testis tissue

Subject Areas : Journal of Comparative Pathobiology

elnaz noshadirad ¹ (Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.)
کاظم parivar ² (Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.)
saeed Motesaddi Zarandi ³ (Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of public Health and safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.)
بتول Gorbani Yekta ⁴ (گروه فیزیولوژی ، دانشکده پزشکی، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی ازاد اسلامی تهران)

Received: 2023-11-21 Accepted : 2023-11-19 Published : 2024-03-05

Keywords: PM2/5, testis, DNA fragmentation, Aquaporin9s,

Abstract :

Air pollution in different cities of the world, has become a one of the most important environmental problems, which the effect of its on human health, especially fertility, has been considered. This study aims to investigate the impact of PM2/5 and gas pollution on various aspects including the, sex hormone changes, sperm DNA fragmentation and also (MS-HRM) assay of aquaporin 9 gene in testis tissue. After sampling and evaluating the concentration of PM2/5 24 Wistar rats (weight 170 to 200 g ) were used. The animals were randomly divided into three equal groups including the exposure group 1 (received PM2/5 and gaseous pollutants), exposure group 2 (received gaseous pollutants), and the control group (received the air filtered). After 6 months the animals were investigated for hormonal changes such as FSH, testosterone as well as sperm DNA fragmentation and also methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MS-HRM) assay was performed. The data obtained showed that the serum level of FSH and testosterone are significantly increased and decreased in the exposure group 1 compared to the control group, respectively. The exposure group 2 also significantly showed lower the testosterone level than that of the control group. A significant difference was also seen in both exposure groups 1 and 2 with the control group respected to sperm DNA fragmentation. MS-HRM assays detected only hypermethylation of Exposure 1 in comparison with control group in a period of six months. Therefore, exposure to PM2/5 and gas pollutants leads to interference in the secretion of sex hormones and has a detrimental effect on sperm DNA fragmentation, resulting in disruption of male reproductive function, which is crucial in inducing infertility in males. These findings may help in identifying therapeutic targets for reducing human infertility disorders caused by exposure to PM2/5.

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