Stereological assessment of the effects of vitamin D deficiency on the rat testis

Author:

Zamani Ali,Saki ForoughORCID,Hatami Neda,Koohpeyma FarhadORCID

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAccumulating evidence suggests that low vitamin D status may affect male gonadal structure. This study was undertaken to reveal whether vitamin D-deficient rats have demonstrable changes in the quantitative histomorphometric properties of the testis.MethodsIn the present investigation, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups and received: group 1) conventional diet; group 2) vitamin D-deficient diet; group 3) vitamin D-deficient diet and paricalcitol and group 4) conventional diet plus paricalcitol. After 3 months, serum levels of vitamin D metabolites, Ca, P, LH, FSH, testosterone, and epididymal sperm quality were evaluated. Moreover, the morphometric characteristics of testis were assessed via stereological methods.ResultsRats fed a vitamin D-deficient diet (groups 2 and 3) were normocalcemic and had 25-hydroxyvitamin D3level below 10 ng/mL. A significant reduction in serum testosterone and comparable gonadotropin levels were seen in vitamin D-deficient groups compared to controls. The concentration, morphology, and motility of sperm cells were profoundly disturbed in animals raised on the vitamin D-deficient diet. There was a significant decline in the population of different germ cells, the volume of interstitial tissue and germinal epithelium in group 2 and 3 rats, which were placed on the vitamin D-deficient diet. No appreciable difference in the estimates of the Leydig or Sertoli cell numbers were observed between groups.ConclusionsThe depletion of vitamin D stores and induction of moderate grades of vitamin D deficiency by dietary measures led to remarkable impairment of spermatogenesis and microscopic architecture of rat testis. These findings can be attributed, at least in part, to decreased androgen production.

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Subject

General Medicine,Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

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