Role of zinc in regulating the testicular function Part 3. Histopathological changes induced by dietary zinc deficiency in testes of male albino rats

✍ Scribed by Hafiez, A. A. ;El-Kirdassy, Z. H. M. ;El-Malkh, N. M. ;El-Zayat, E. M. I.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 606 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0027-769X
• DOI: 10.1002/food.19900340114

✦ Synopsis

Zinc deficiency affects the testicular tissues adversely. The testes of zinc-deficient rats showed variable degrees of degeneration compared to both control and zinc-supplemented ones. Initially, there was an early pronounced spermatic arrest followed by a series of degeneration of the cellular layers constituting the seminiferous tubules in the zinc-deficient rats. Degenerative changes were additionally demonstrated in the interstitial tissue cells of the zinc-deficient rats. These histopathological observations in testes of zinc-deficient rats run in parallel provide an additional support to our previous publications in which we recorded a significant reduction in both serum and testicular levels of testosterone in the same group of animals, since spermatogenesis in rodents appeared to depend primarily on testosterone level.