Testicular toxicity of dibromoacetonitrile and possible protection by tertiary butylhydroquinone.

Dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN) is known to be water disinfectant by-product. Its broad-spectrum toxicity in different test systems in vivo and in vitro has been reported. Oxidative damage induced by DBAN may be partially responsible for its toxicity. Herein, the ability of DBAN to induce oxidative stress in mouse testis and possible protective effect of an antioxidant tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) were addressed. Male albino mice were injected with a single dose of DBAN (50mg/kg i.p.), and killed after 3h of treatment. Control animals received 10ml/kg body weight i.p. of the vehicle DMSO. In both experiments, cauda epididymis were dissected and sperm count and motility were investigated. Also, testicular activity of lactic dehydrogenase-x (LDH-x) isozyme and histopathological changes were examined. Furthermore, testicular content of malonyldialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were determined. A single i.p. dose of DBAN caused decrease in sperm count and motility to approximately 88 and 84%, respectively, compared with control animals. A 46% decrease in testicular activity of LDH-x, compared with control animals, was observed. A significant accumulation of MDA in DBAN-treated animals was increased to 99% while testicular content of GSH was decreased by 56% compared to control animals. Compared to DBAN-treated animals, treatment with TBHQ (100mg/kg p.o.) prior exposure to DBAN showed a remarkable degree of protection as indicated by enhancement of sperm count and motility, testicular activity of LDH-x, and GSH. Accumulation of testicular content of MDA significantly decreased following TBHQ treatment compared to DBAN-treated animals. In conclusion, results presented here indicate that DBAN is capable to induce oxidative stress in mouse testis. TBHQ may play a protective role against DBAN-induced testicular cellular damage.