Ultrastructural and biochemical changes in epididymis and vas deferens of gossypol treated rats.

Adult male Wister rats when administered with 15 mg/kg body weight/day of gossypol acetic acid proved to be sterile by 10 weeks of treatment. The weight of the whole epididymis did not deviate from the controls but when the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis were considered separately, the cauda epididymidis weight was significantly reduced. The major changes were observed in the motor apparatus of the sperm. The most common defects in the sperm were the vacuolization and complete degeneration of the midpiece mitochondria and plasma membrane. The total LDH activity of caput and cauda epididymidis were within the range of control values. Sialic acid levels of the epididymis were not affected after the treatment. These results suggest a more proximal site of action of the drug than at the epididymal level.

Effects of whole body Co-60 irradiation on the testes and epididymides of hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris): a biochemical analysis.

The effects of 575 and 875 Rontgen (R) of whole-body irradiation in common Indian hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris) were studied. At 875 R it showed typical signs and symptoms of radiation sickness, transient body loss and radiation mortality. Extensive vasculitis, pyknosis, chromatorrhexix and chromatolysis was noticed in the testes of irradiated hedgehogs. Epididymides and vas deferens were devoid of spermatozoa. Whole body irradiation inhibited the RNA, protein and sialic acid synthesis in the testes. Total cholesterol per gram of testes was increased significantly. Sialic acid contents of the irradiated epididymides were low. Reduced androgen production was confirmed in non-active Leydig cells, with diminished sex accessory organs and decreased fructose contents in the seminal vesicles of irradiated hedgehogs.