The influence of bisphenol A exposure on testicular function (experimental and clinical study)

Chigrinets S.V.; Briukhin G.V.

doi:https://doi.org/10.17116/repro201925031113

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Abstract:

Objective — to investigate the dependence of the germinative and endocrine functions of the testes in men and experimental animals on the level of bisphenol A (BPA) concentration in the semen or testicular tissue. Material and methods. 53 samples of seminal fluid of men with normo- and patozoospermia were investigated. The concentration of bisphenol A in seminal fluid was determined by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The spermiological study was carried out according to the recommendations of the WHO (2010) taking into account the assessment of the number of spermatozoa, their mobility and morphology, as well as the index of spermatozoa DNA fragmentation. In addition, the concentration of total testosterone and estradiol was determined in the blood plasma. The experimental part of the work was performed on white sexually mature male rats of Wistar (n=20). The rats of the experimental group received daily bisphenol A (Sigma-Aldrich, USA) in the amount of 200 mg/kg with food for two months. The total number of spermatozoa in 1 ml of sperm was determined with the calculation of their motility and atypical forms and also morphometric measurements of convoluted seminiferous tubules and Leydig cells were carried out according to standard techniques. The concentration of bisphenol A of the testes was measured by the GC-MS method. The obtained data was subjected to statistical processing using IBM SPSS Statistics v.21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. Results. BPA was found in 100% of the ejaculate samples with a median concentration of 0.15 (0.06—0.31) ng/ml. The groups of patients included in the study differed significantly in the concentration of BPA in the seminal fluid (p<0.001), as well as in the sperm DNA fragmentation index (p=0.001). Statistically significant correlations were found between the concentration of BPA and the total count of spermatozoa (r=–0.330; p=0.016), concentration (r=–0.309; p=0.024), and the proportion of progressively motile spermatozoa (r =–0.575; p<0.001), the proportion of spermatozoa with normal morphology (r=–0.397; p=0.003), the degree of fragmentation of the DNA of spermatozoa (r=0.349; p=0.025) and the concentration of total blood testosterone (r=–0.616; p<0.001 ). The correlation between BPA concentration and blood estradiol was statistically insignificant (r=0.108; p=0.651). It was shown that the differences between the comparison groups in the concentration of bisphenol A in testicular tissues were statistically significant (p<0.001) in the experimental part of the work. BPA reduced the mass of the testes, the total number of spermatozoa (p=0.004) with an increase in their atypical forms (p=0.014) and a change in the number of fertile spermatozoa (progressively mobile and poorly mobile) compared to the group of intact animals. In addition, bisphenol A led to a decrease in the total number of Leydig cells (p=0.001) with their nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio. Conclusion. Bisphenol A has a negative effect on the germinative and endocrine functions of the testes in men and experimental animals.

Keywords:

infertility

sperm

endocrine disruptor

bisphenol A

testosterone

experiment

Leydig cells

morphometry

Authors:

Chigrinets S.V.

Department of histology, embryology and cytology of South-Ural State Medical University of Russian Ministry of Health, Chelyabinsk, Russia

Briukhin G.V.

Cheliabinskaia gosudarstvennaia meditsinskaia akademiia

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