Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze whether di(2‐ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a Sertoli and Leydig cell toxicant, is able to induce alterations in the expression of testicular gap and tight junction proteins. DEHP was administered by gavage (1 g/5 mL corn oil/kg body weight/day) to 25‐day‐old male Sprague–Dawley rats for 2 days (DEHP‐27d) and control rats were treated with corn‐oil vehicle for 2 days (C‐27d); animals were killed 24 h after the last treatment. Testes of DEHP‐27d rats showed different degrees of germ cell sloughing of seminiferous tubules (ST). No alterations of the blood testis barrier (BTB) by lanthanum tracer study were observed. ST of DEHP‐27d rats showed a milder immunofluorescence and more restricted expression of connexin‐43 (Cx43) in the adluminal and basal compartment compared to C‐27d. In DEHP‐27d rats, we found a discontinuous immunofluorescent (IF) pattern for zonula occludens (ZO‐1), contrasting with the continuous IF profile observed in C‐27d, and a delocalization of claudin‐11. A decrease in Cx43 and ZO‐1 and no changes in occludin expression were detected by Western blot in the testes of DEHP‐27d rats. Results from 57‐day‐old rats treated with DEHP for 2 days and held for 30 days without treatment showed that the alterations in protein expression induced by DEHP are reversible. However, a delay of spermatogenesis compared to C‐57d rats, occurred. Data demonstrated that DEHP does not impair BTB permeability but induces germ cell sloughing that might respond to a down regulation of Cx43 and ZO‐1 that alters cell junction proteins. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.