Histopathological study of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on testes in mouse

(Received 10 October, 2008 ; Accepted 6 May, 2009)AbstractBackground and purpose: Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is plasticizer used commonly in a variety of polyvinyl chloride- based consumable products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of DEHP on body weight, testis weight, seminiferous tubular diameter, seminiferous epithelium height, seminiferous lumen diameter, number of sertoli cells and round spermatids per seminiferous tubule in mice.Materials and methods: The protocol for DEHP administration was that adult male NMRI mice (the age group of 4 weeks) received 2g DEHP/100μl corn oil/kg, and vehicle group received 100 μl corn oil/ kg by gavage for 14 days. The control group did not receive DEHP.All animals were weighed on the first and terminal day of the experiment. The left and right without fat testis, weights were recorded for each animal. Left testis was fixed in Bouin solution, routinely processed for embedding in paraffin and staining of 5 μm sections with hematoxilin and eosin (H&E) for histopathological examination.Results: Administration of DEHP induced the reduction of body and testis weight significantly (p<0.05). Furthermore, DEHP decreased the seminiferous tubular diameter, seminiferous epithelium height, and seminiferous lumen diameter. The number of sertoli cells and round spermatids in seminiferous tubule was significantly low, compared with control group.Conclusion: These results demonstrated that DEHP administration has toxicant effects on body and testis weight, spermatogenesis process, along with male reproductive system. J Mazand Univ Med Sci 2009; 19(71): 52-59 (Persian)