Ultrastructural effects of cigarette smoke on rat testis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural changes taking place in the testicular tissue of adult male Wistar rats following exposure to cigarette smoke. Twenty rats were exposed to smoke in a smoking machine for 2 h daily for 60 days; 10 control rats were placed in the machine for the same amount of time but were exposed to room air. After ether anesthesia and dissection of the animals, the testes were removed and fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde. The sections were examined under a transmission electron microscope. Evident degeneration and dissociation of the spermatogenetic cells were common findings. Basal lamina of the tubuli seminiferi contorti was thickened and significantly irregular. Cigarette smoke inhalation damaged the seminiferous epithelium. The primary spermatocytes as well as Sertoli cells appeared to be targets for the smoke. The results indicated that cigarette smoke inhalation could cause specific lesions in the development of spermatozoon, and it might be either directly or indirectly toxic to spermatogenesis. Copyright 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel.