Antigenotoxic effects of a polyherbal drug septilin against the genotoxicity of cyclophosphamide in mice

Septilin (Spt) is a polyherbal drug formulation from Himalaya Drug Company, consisting of extracts from different medicinal plants and minerals. In the traditional system of medicine, septilin is being used as immunomodulatory, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. In the present study, the protective effects of septilin against the genotoxicity of cyclophosphamide (CP) a widely used alkylating anticancer drug was evaluated by using in vivo micronucleus (MN) and sperm shape abnormality assays in Swiss albino mice. CP administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. was used as positive mutagen. Different doses of septilin viz., 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg b.w. was orally administered for 5 consecutive days. CP was administered intraperitoneally on 5th day. MN and sperm preparations were made after 24 h and 35 days respectively. CP induced significant MN in both bone marrow and peripheral blood cells and also a high frequency of abnormal sperms. In septilin supplemented animals, no significant induction of MN and abnormal sperms was recorded. In septilin supplemented groups, a dose dependent significant decrease in CP induced clastogenicity was observed. Thus the current in vivo study revealed the antigenotoxic effects of septilin against CP induced damage, in both somatic and germ cells of Swiss albino mice.

Effect of different doses of nandrolone decanoate on lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, sperm abnormality and histopathology of testes of male Wister rats

The present study aims of to investigate the effects of low and high doses of nandrolone decanoate (ND) on histopathology and apoptosis of the spermatogenic cells as well as lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, sperm abnormality and DNA fragmentation. Eighteen animals were divided into three groups each group contain six animals. The rats were divided into three groups as following: Group 1 was administered saline (control). Group 2, received nandrolone decanoate (3 mg/kg/weekly) (low dose) with intramuscular injection. Group 3, received intramuscular injection dose of nandrolone decanoate (10 mg/kg/weekly) (high dose). After 8 weeks, caspase-3 assay was used to determine the apoptotic cells. The sperm parameters, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities and testosterone concentration were also investigated in the experimental groups of both low and high dose compared to the control groups. Treated group with high dose showed degenerated germinal epithelial cells sloughed in the lumina of seminiferous tubules, where almost seminiferous tubules were devoid of spermatids and spermatozoa compared to control and group treated with low dose. Also, a significant increase of lipid peroxidation levels and heat shock proteins was observed in two groups administrated with two different doses of ND while, antioxidant enzyme activities, and testosterone concentration was significantly decreased in two treated group when compared with control. Administration of ND at high and low doses leads to deteriorated sperm parameters, DNA fragmentation and testicular apoptosis. In conclusion, the administration ND at high doses more effective on lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, sperm abnormality, histopathology, apoptotic and DNA changes compared to low dose group and to control group.

Role of biomarkers in the evaluation of cadmium and ethoprophos combination in male mice

This work aimed to study the risk assessment procedures of a combination of single and repeated dose of the widely used pesticide, ethoprophos (Etho) and heavy metal cadmium (Cd), on the hematological, biochemical, reproduction and cytogenetic parameters in male mice. The results revealed that the sub-lethal dose (1/50 LD₅₀) of the tested toxic substances (Etho and/or Cd) reduced the body and organ weights, the most hematological profile and the activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE). The tested pollutants significantly increased the parameters of liver function, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), as well as renal function tests, including creatinine and urea. In addition, they have deleterious effects on reproductive function tests by stimulating the number of sperm abnormalities (SA) and cytogenetic assays by increasing the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) and the mitotic index (MI). The overall results of this exploratory study suggest that the co-existence of the two tested compounds (Etho and Cd) had the propensity to cause a more pronounced effect than that of each compound alone on all the battery measured biomarkers, especially in the repeated treatment (14 doses) than that in the single one. Also, the combination of a range of simple and sensitive assays as endpoints gives a comprehensive picture and provides better insights to evaluate the potential effects of other commonly encountered environmental pollutants.

Sperm characterization of the Amazonian freshwater cururu stingray Potamotrygon wallacei (Potamotryogonidae): basic knowledge for reproduction and conservation plans

This study aimed to describe the morphology and sperm quality of free-living adult males of cururu stingray Potamotrygon wallacei, endemic from the Rio Negro basin, Brazilian Amazon. The sperm was collected in loco from the seminal vesicle region and fixed in buffered saline formaldehyde solution for further evaluation of morphometry, sperm plasma membrane integrity and sperm concentration. The spermatozoa presented a total length of 138.25 ± 1.82 μm with a helical shape and a long head. A high percentage of cells with intact membrane (98 ± 2%) and normal spermatozoa (92 ± 1%) were observed. The cell concentration was 0.34 ± 0.05 × 1010 spermatozoa/ml of semen. These observations are unprecedented for potamotrygonid species and will serve as a basis for future management and conservation strategies.

Solid-state fermentation of ammoniated corn straw to produce feed protein and toxicological assessment of the product

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) of ammoniated corn straw was used to produce feed protein, followed by a toxicological assessment of the fermentation product. Results showed that through ammonification at 35 °C for 9 days and the subsequent SSF by the two fungi Penicillium sp. and Torula allii at 30 °C for 5 days, the contents of real protein and crude protein of the corn straw reached 29.66% and 35.41%, respectively. Toxicological assessment in mice showed that there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) for micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (Mn-PCEs) and sperm abnormality between dose groups and the control group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and activities of superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) also showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) between tissues (heart, liver, spleen, stomach, kidney, and brain), which indicates that the fermentation product did not induce toxic effects and is safe to use as ruminant feed.

Prolificacy Assessment of Spermatozoan via State-of-the-Art Deep Learning Frameworks

Childlessness or infertility among couples has become a global health concern. Due to the rise in infertility, couples are looking for medical supports to attain reproduction. This paper deals with diagnosing infertility among men and the major factor in diagnosing infertility among men is the Sperm Morphology Analysis (SMA). In this manuscript, we explore establishing deep learning frameworks to automate the classification problem in the fertilization of sperm cells. We investigate the performance of multiple state-of-the-art deep neural networks on the MHSMA dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the deep learning-based framework outperforms human experts on sperm classification in terms of accuracy, throughput and reliability. We further analyse the sperm cell data by visualizing the feature activations of the deep learning models, providing a new perspective to understand the data. Finally, a comprehensive analysis is also demonstrated on the experimental results obtained and attributing them to pertinent reasons.

Carcinogenic Activities and Sperm Abnormalities of Methicillin Resistance Staphylococcus aureus and Inhibition of Their Virulence Potentials by Ayamycin

This investigation aimed to study the in vivo harmful effects of the subcutaneous injection of different methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus extracts (MRSA2, MRSA4, MRSA10, MRSA69, MRSA70, MRSA76, and MRSA78). Such strains represented the highest minimum inhibition concentration toward methicillin with various multidrug-resistant patterns. The obtained results revealed that rats injected with the MRSA4 extract died immediately after the last dose indicating the high cytotoxicity of MRSA4 strain (100% mortality). While the mortalities in other groups injected by the other MRSA extracts ranged from 50 to 75%. In comparison with the normal animal group, all MRSA extracts induced a hepatotoxic effect which was indicated from the significant (p < 0.01) increases in the activities of the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) and aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) enzymes. Moreover, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) combined with a partial nephrotoxicity that was monitored from the significant elevation of serum urea concentration. While serum creatinine levels did not affect. Similarly, a significant elevation was recorded in serum levels of tumor biomarkers (alpha fetoprotein; AFP, carcinoembryonic antigen; CEA, and lactate dehydrogenase; LDH) reflecting their carcinogenic potential. On the other hand, the percentage of micronuclei (MN) in polychromatic erythrocytes from bone marrow cells was statistically significant in all groups as compared to the control group. The percentage of sperm abnormalities was statistically significant compared to the control. Different types of head abnormalities and coiled tail were recorded. Consequently, the current study focused on fighting MRSA virulence factors by the new compound ayamycin, which proved to be potent anti-virulence factor against all MRSA strains under study by significant decreasing of their streptokinase activities, hemolysin synthesis, biofilm formation, and their cell surface hydrophobicity.

In vivo assessment of genotoxic potential of brown shammah (smokeless tobacco) in bone marrow cells of mice

This study was aimed to assess the genotoxicity of brown shammah (BS), a local form of smokeless tobacco, popular in Middle East countries including Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The genotoxicity was explored using in vivo chromosomal aberration (CA), micronucleus (MN) and sperm abnormality (SA) assays. In addition, oxidative stress was also determined using various hepatic markers. Swiss albino mice were selected for the study, which were divided in to 5 groups of six animals each. They include, negative control (NC, received only vehicle) as well as positive control group (PC, received vehicle for 2 weeks followed by administration of cyclophosphamide, CP). Depending upon their dose, three BS treated animal groups were BS-100, 300 and 900 mg/kg. Doses of BS were obtained by suspending BS in 0.5% CMC (carboxy methyl cellulose) and orally administered once a day for 2 weeks. Significant augmentation of the average percentage of aberrant metaphase (AM), CA per cells and suppressed mitotic activity was observed on post administration of BS. In addition, BS increased the occurrence of MNPCEs (micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes) formation, induced cytotoxicity and increased percentage of abnormal sperms as compared to NC. Moreover, BS also induced oxidative stress as the activities of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) were reduced and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were increased by BS. Cyclophosphamide was utilized as clastogen, showed anticipated positive results and confirmed the sensitivity of test system. Therefore, it may be deduced from the study that the BS possesses genotoxic effects on mice bone marrow and germ cells in vivo.