Di-n-butyl phthalate diminishes testicular steroidogenesis by blocking the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis: relationship with germ cell apoptosis in Japanese quail
Mohammad Shah Alam
A C D and Masamichi Kurohmaru B C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh.
B Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Okayama University of Science, Imabari, Ehime 794-8555, Japan.
C Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
D Corresponding author. Email: shahalam@bsmrau.edu.bd
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 33(5) 319-327 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD20150
Submitted: 10 June 2020 Accepted: 6 November 2020 Published: 26 February 2021
Abstract
Although di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) induces germ cell apoptosis, the underlying mechanism is not yet clear in quail. In this study, prepubertal quails were given a single dose of 500 mg kg−1 DBP by gavage and were then killed 3, 6 and 24 h after treatment. There was a significant reduction in intratesticular testosterone (ITT) concentrations and testicular steroidogenic enzyme mRNA expression and a significant increase in germ cell apoptosis in DBP-treated compared with control quails at all time points. Maximum apoptosis was detected 6 h after treatment and the maximum reduction in testosterone concentrations was at 3 h. To investigate whether DBP suppressed testicular steroidogenesis by affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis, we analysed pituitary LH subunit β (Lhb) mRNA expression and serum LH concentrations. At all time points, pituitary Lhb expression and serum LH concentrations were significantly decreased following DBP treatment. The present observations suggest the possibility that DBP blocked LH secretion from the hypothalamus and/or pituitary, thereby decreasing LH stimulation of Leydig cells and reducing ITT concentrations. DBP-induced decreases in ITT concentrations may cause changes to the physical structure of Sertoli cells, which, in turn, may induce germ cell apoptosis.
Keywords: di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular (HPT) axis, Japanese quails, germ cell apoptosis, testicular steroidogenesis.
References
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