Testosterone modulates atrazine-induced cytotoxicity in testicular cell lines

Abstract

Testosterone greatly influences healthy growth and development of male sex organs. Testosterone has been demonstrated to possess antioxidant and anti-cytotoxic effects in cells. The present study examine the protective effect of testosterone on ATZ-induced cytotoxicity using TM3 Leydig and TM4 Sertoli cell lines as testicular in vitro models. TM3 Leydig and TM4 Sertoli cell lines were treated with atrazine (ATZ) 232 μM with varying concentrations of testosterone (0.1. 1, 10, 20 nM) for 6 h, 12 h and 48 h. Administration of testosterone increased the viability of the cell lines for 12 h and 48 h exposure compared to ATZ values (p< 0.005). Furthermore, testosterone reduced TM3 cell and TM4 cell GSH levels. Exogenous testosterone intake minimizes cell death and GSH levels in testicular cell lines exposed to ATZ. However, the lowest dose of testosterone attenuates the ATZ-induced increase of GSH levels in both TM3 and TM4 cells (p< 0.005).