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Testicular Histomorphometry and Ultrastructure of Rats Treated with Cadmium and Ginkgo biloba

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the association of a single low dose of Cd and daily doses of Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) on the testis and accessory glands of rats. The animals were treated with a single dose of 3 µmol/kg body weight of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and/or 100 mg/kg body weight of GbE. The plasma testosterone levels; corporal, testicular, and accessory glands weight; gonadosomatic index, volumetric proportion; and absolute volume of testicular components did not change after the treatments. CdCl2 caused significant reduction in Leydig cells volume and altered Leydig cell morphology, as well as vacuolated Sertoli cells cytoplasm, irregular chromatin condensation of late spermatids, and modified acrosome formation. However, animals that received GbE did not show these alterations. The reversal of Cd-induced alterations by the extract is a strong indication that G. biloba is helpful in diminishing the effect of Cd toxicity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dra. Karina Carvalho Mancini (Federal University of Espírito Santo, University Center of North of Espírito Santo, Department of Health, Biological and Agricultural Sciences) for her help in preparing the manuscript, Dra. Regina Célia Spadari Bratfisch (Department of Physiology—UNICAMP) for the testosterone analysis and critical analysis of the article, Júnior de Souza Predes for elaborating a cell counting program for the morphometric measurements, and Dr. Ronaldo Wada for his help with the statistical analysis. This study was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Grants 2006/00040-9, Brazil), Fundo de Apoio ao Ensino, à Pesquisa e à Extensão (FAEPEX), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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  1. Rua Charles Darwin, s/n, Department of Anatomy, Cellular Biology, Physiology and Biophysics, State University of Campinas, Campinas, CP 6109, São Paulo, 13083-863, Brazil

    Fabrícia de Souza Predes, Juliana Castro Monteiro, Márcia C. Garcia & Heidi Dolder

  2. Department of General Biology, Federal University of Viçosa, Campus Universitário Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Sérgio Luis Pinto Matta

  3. Departamento de Anatomia, Biologia Celular e Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, CP 6109, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, 13083-863

    Fabrícia de Souza Predes

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  1. Fabrícia de Souza Predes
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Correspondence to Fabrícia de Souza Predes.

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de Souza Predes, F., Monteiro, J.C., Matta, S.L.P. et al. Testicular Histomorphometry and Ultrastructure of Rats Treated with Cadmium and Ginkgo biloba . Biol Trace Elem Res 140, 330–341 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-010-8702-5

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