A Brazilian pulp and paper mill effluent disrupts energy metabolism in immature rat testis and alters Sertoli cell secretion and mitochondrial activity.

Vanessa Staldoni De Oliveira,Débora Da Luz Scheffer,Ariane Zamoner Pacheco De Souza,Carlos Henrique Lemos Soares,Glen Van Der Kraak,Alexandra Latini,Juliana Tonietto Domingues,Allisson Jhonatan Gomes Castro,Fátima Regina Mena Barreto Silva

doi:10.1590/1984-3143-ar2019-0116

Vanessa Staldoni De Oliveira, Débora Da Luz Scheffer + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-3143-ar2019-0116

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Abstract

Our objective was to investigate whether the pulp and paper mill industry effluent could affect the testis and Sertoli cells in a fast exposure period. For this, the present study was carried out in immature rats at 10-day-old. Testis treated in vitro with 4% effluent for 1 h presented changes in energy metabolism in terms of a decrease in lactate content and glucose uptake. Elevation in GSH content, as an antioxidant defense mechanism, was also detected. Sertoli cells treated with 4% effluent for 1 hour showed alterations in the mitochondrial metabolism that favor the decoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and the generation of oxygen reactive species and also a time and concentration-dependent delay secretion of acidic vesicles. Our results showed that pollutants present in the pulp and paper mill effluents, in a short time of exposure, are capable of inducing alterations in important metabolic functions in the testis and in Sertoli cells that are crucial for the correct progression of spermatogenesis and fertility.

Highlights

The male immature reproductive phase is characterized by marked morphological changes which underlie a critical change in the development of the testis (Mendive et al, 2006)
In order to determine if the decrease of lactate content was caused by a change in the activity of the enzyme that produces the lactate, the activity of the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme (LDH) enzyme was examined
We evaluated whether the decrease in lactate content was associated with a change in glucose uptake

Summary

Introduction

The male immature reproductive phase is characterized by marked morphological changes which underlie a critical change in the development of the testis (Mendive et al, 2006). BTB arises between 15 and 25 day-old (Morales et al, 2007) For this reason the immature reproductive phase, prior to the BTB formation, is a sensitive exposure window for certain toxicants that may affect intra‐testicular environment and adversely disturbs spermatogenesis (Picut and Parker, 2017; Gonçalves et al, 2018). There is an interesting relationship between the metabolisms of two testicular cells types: Sertoli cell can metabolize different energetic substrates but preferably use glucose, most of Copyright © The Author(s).

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