Aflatoxin B1-induced apoptosis at spermatogenesis lineage level; A model study on mice

Background: Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is an aflatoxin produced by aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. It is arguably the most potent carcinogen known. It has been shown that, AFB1 adversely affects the sperm count and quality. Therefore, the present study was done in order to analyze the exact mechanism(s) by which AFB1 affects the spermatogenesis.Methods: For this purpose, 24 mature male albino mice were divided into four groups as; control (received 20 μg corn oil, daily, ip) and test groups (0.2 μg, daily, ip). Following 7, 15 and 35 days the testicular tissues were dissected out and the mRNA and protein expression of p53, Bcl-2 and caspase-3 were assessed by using reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry, respectively.Result: Observations demonstrated that AFB1, in a time dependent manner, up-regulated the p53 and caspase-3 expression. Meanwhile, the expression of Bcl-2 was decreased at both protein and mRNA levels versus control-sham animals.Conclusion: In conclusion, our data showed that AFB1, negatively affects the Bcl-2 expression, which in turn results in overexpression of p53. Enhanced p53 expression ultimately enhances the caspase-3 expression leading to severe apoptosis.

Keywords:

Apoptosis , Bcl-2 , Caspase-3 , Spermatogenesis , Aflatoxin