Impact of increased expression of testicular caspase-3 in early ages of rats exposed to Ivermectin

Resumo (EN)

Abstract: Studies from our group have revealed that treatment with a therapeutic dose of ivermectin in adult rats increases the expression of caspase-3 and the number of tubules with labeled cells in the tubular lumen, thereby affecting the testicular natural homeostasis process. These effects resulted in impairments of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis. The present study investigated whether exposure to a therapeutic dose of ivermectin at young and peripubertal ages affected spermatogenesis, spermiogenesis, and the expression of caspase-3 in the testes of rats. Methods: Wistar rats received two doses of 1.0 mg/kg IVM or 0.9% saline solution at 29 and 44 days of age. At 45 days of age, these groups were euthanized, and the rats and testicles were weighed. We conducted a macroscopic evaluation of the animals and a microscopic morphometry evaluation of the seminiferous epithelium. The testis tissue apoptosis was made using Caspase's methodology. The rat's body weight, testicular volume, relative weight, the major and minor axes, and the frequency of Leydig cells did not differ between groups. The epithelium tubular height increased in ivermectin-treated rats compared to the control group. In the IVM group, histopathological analysis revealed disorganization of the germinal epithelium, vacuolation, desquamation of cells into the tubular lumen, and cell nuclei with pyknotic aspects. Ivermectin increased the expression of caspase-3 in median and strongly labeled tubules, suggesting possible testicular damage at young and peripubertal ages in male rats