Abstract
The vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a hematophagous species, and is considered the main transmitter of rabies to cattle in Latin America. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of coumestrol (COU; 5 µg per g body weight, administered orally for 30 d) on the histoarchitecture of vampire bat testicles. A total of 10 male vampire bats were divided randomly into two groups: COU-treated and control (N = 5 per group). Testis samples were obtained for histometric evaluation. The numbers of epididymal sections containing spermatozoa for each bat were counted by light microscopy and fluorescent signal detection was performed by confocal microscopy. We found significant group differences in germinal epithelium thickness, seminiferous tube diameter, intertubular space, number of spermatogenia, Sertoli cell counts, spermatid cell counts, Leydig cell counts, and the number of epididymal sections with spermatozoa. Based on our results, we conclude that COU, when administered orally for 30 d, can modify the histoarchitecture of vampire bat testicular tissue in a manner that would be expected to impair fertility.
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