Abstract
In this study, the toxicity of bis (tri-n-butyltin) oxide (TBTO), a marine pollutant, in premature mouse testes and the correlation of a total tin concentration with toxicity were examined. Mice were treated by oral administration twice a week for four weeks from five weeks of age at doses of 0 mg/kg (control), 0.4 mg/kg, 2.0 mg/kg, or 10 mg/kg, and sacrificed on the day following the final administration. The control mice were administered with distilled water containing 0.2% ethanol as vehicle. Removed testes were used for determination of the testicular sperm head counts and for histological study or determination of the total tin concentration. The sperm head count was significantly decreased in the 2.0 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg administration groups, although the testicular weights of both groups were unchanged compared to that of the control. The histological study revealed that TBTO caused vacuolization of Sertoli cells in several seminiferous tubules that failed to organize, however, the frequencies of occurrence were low. The total tin concentration in the testis increased in a dose-dependent manner in inverse proportion to the reduction of sperm head counts. These results suggest that TBTO is potentially an anti-testicular compound in mice.
