Effects Of Lead And Cadmium Co-exposure During Puberty On Testosterone Production And Spermatogenesis In Mice

Objective To observe the effects of lead and cadmium co-exposure through drinking water during puberty on testosterone production and spermatogenesis in mice.Methods Healthy male ICR mice at 4 weeks were randomly divided into the control,lead,cadmium,lead plus cadmium group.There was 15 mice in each group.Mice in each group were exposed to pure water(reverse osmosis water),lead acetate solution(600 ppm),cadmium chloride solution(100 ppm),and the mixed solution including lead acetate and cadmium chloride(cadmium chloride 100 ppm and lead acetate 600ppm).After exposure of 40 days,blood was collected by removing eyeballs,and then mice were killed.The testes,epididymides were detached and weighted.The organ coefficient of testes and epididymides was counted.Sperm was counted from cauda epididymidis.Testicular histological morphology was evaluated using H&E staining.Serum testosterone concentration was analyzed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results No significant difference in water consumption was observed among lead(6.6± 0.1 ml/day),cadmium(5.8 ± 0.1 ml/day),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(6.2± 0.2 ml/day)and the control group(6.1 ± 0.1 ml/day).No significant difference in diet intake was observed among lead(5.4±0.5g/day),cadmium(5.3±0.5g/day),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(6.0±0.6g/day)and the control group(5.7±0.5g/day).No significant difference in body weight gain(F=0.05)was observed among cadmium,lead,cadmium plus lead co-exposure group and the control group.No significant difference in the weight of testes was observed among lead(0.26±0.01g),cadmium(0.25±0.01g),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(0.25±0.01g)and the control group(0.25±0.01 g).No significant difference in organ coefficient of testes was observed among lead(0.64±0.02),cadmium(0.61 ±0.02),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(0.60±0.02)and the control group(0.61±0.03).No significant difference in the weight of epididymides was observed among lead(0.049±0.001g),cadmium(0.048±0.001g),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(0.050±0.001g)and the control group(0.051±0.002g).No significantdifference in organ coefficient of epididymides was observed among lead(0.25±0.01),cadmium(0.23±0.01),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(0.24±0.01)and the control group(0.24±0.01).After exposure of 40 days,lead,cadmium or lead plus cadmium did not cause the change of the weight of testes(F=0.24)and organ coefficient of testes(F=0.75),the weight of epididymides(F=0.55),and organ coefficient of epididymides(F=0.43).No significant difference in sperm count was observed among lead(15.8±1.0×106 individual/epididymid),cadmium(14.7±1.7×106individual/epididymid),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(16.5±1.7×106individual/epididymid)and the control group(15.3±1.7×106 individual/epididymid).No significant difference in serum testosterone concentration was observed among lead(3.8± 0.4 ng/ml),cadmium(4.2±0.4ng/ml),cadmium plus lead co-exposure group(3.5±0.3ng/ml)and the control group(3.7±0.4ng/ml).Conclusion The present study shows that lead and cadmium co-exposure during puberty does not affect testosterone production and spermatogenesis in mice.