Objective To study the ultrastructural changes of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA) in carbon disulfide (CS2) treated rats and the interventional effect of nitric oxide (NO).
Methods Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups as: control, CS2, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) intervention and N-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) intervention groups. Three experimental groups were treated with 1 250 mg/m3 CS2 by inhalation for 10 weeks, 2 h/d, 5 d/w. Two intervention groups received intraperitoneal injection of SNP (5 mg/kg), a nitric oxide donor, and L-NMMA (2 mg/kg), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, once a day for 10 days before the end of CS2 exposure. Then ultramicropathology technique was used to observe the ultrastructure of hypothalami, pituitaries and testes isolated from rats.
Results CS2 induced swelling of hypothalamic neurons, gonadotropin cells, growth hormone cells and sertoli cells in male rats as well as widened endoplasmic reticulum. SNP reduced the effects of CS2 on ultrastructural changes; however L-NMMA enhanced the effects.
Conclusion CS2 could induce ultrastructural changes of hypothalamus, pituitary and testis in male rats, which is mediated through NO.
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