β-estradiol 3-benzoate affects spermatogenesis in the adult mouse

• Published in: Molecular and cellular endocrinology 2001-06, Vol.178 (1), p.161-168
• Main Authors: Toyama, Yoshiro, Hosoi, Ikuyoshi, Ichikawa, Souichirou, Maruoka, Miki, Yashiro, Eiko, Ito, Haruo, Yuasa, Shigeki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abnormal sperm; Animals; Estradiol - administration & dosage; Estradiol - analogs & derivatives; Estradiol - toxicity; Estrogens; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Microscopy, Electron; Sertoli Cells - drug effects; Sertoli Cells - ultrastructure; Spermatids - drug effects; Spermatids - ultrastructure; Spermatogenesis - drug effects; Spermiogenesis; Testis; Testis - drug effects; Testis - ultrastructure; Ultrastructure
• ISSN: 0303-7207; 1872-8057
• DOI: 10.1016/S0303-7207(01)00419-1

β-estradiol 3-benzoate (E 2B) (10, 16, 20, 40, 80 and 160 μg/kg body weight) was administered daily to experimental groups of adult mice for the following periods; 2, 3 days, 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. Morphological changes in the testes were observed by both light and electron microscopy. Exfoliation of the germ cells was observed in the lumen of the seminiferous tubule. The spermatogenic cycle, especially stage XII, was disordered. Spermatids older than step 6 were severely affected. Detected abnormalities in the spermatids were deformation of the nucleus and acrosome. Partial deletion in the Sertoli-spermatid ectoplasmic specialization was also observed. Germ cells younger than step 7 spermatids were not affected morphologically. These abnormalities were not detected in the mice treated with the chemical at less than 16 μg/kg body weight. It is concluded that the chemical seems to affect round spermatids metabolically, but the morphological effect can be detected only from the spermatids older than step 6. The effects of the chemical on adult mice were reversible.