Induction of reversible infertility in male rats by oral ornidazole and its effects on sperm motility and epididymal secretions
in ReproductionSearch for other papers by G. Oberländer in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by C. H. Yeung in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by T. G. Cooper in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Ornidazole (400 mg kg−1 day−1) given by oral gavage rendered male rats infertile by 6.6 ± 0.7 days (mean ± sem, n = 9, range 3–10) after beginning the treatment and fertility returned within 5–10 days after treatment with ornidazole for 6–7 days. At 200 mg ornidazole kg−1 day−1, fertility was reduced but total infertility was not achieved. No differences were found in the percentage motility of spermatozoa recovered from any region of the epididymides of ornidazole-treated rats compared with controls. However, computer aided sperm analysis revealed significantly lower straight-line and average path velocities in ornidazole-treated animals (400 mg kg−1 day−1) for spermatozoa from the distal regions of the tract than for controls. Curvilinear velocity was significantly lower than that of controls in the distal corpus and cauda regions. The motility characteristics of spermatozoa from animals receiving 200 mg ornidazole kg−1 day−1 were lower than, but not significantly different from, motility in controls. There were no differences between the total protein, l-carnitine, glycerophosphocholine or total α-glucosidase content in epididymal homogenates from fertile control and infertile ornidazole-treated animals. Spermatozoa released from the cauda epididymidis of untreated rats into ornidazole solutions displayed no changes in the percentage motility up to 20 mmol l−1 and were only depressed at 50 mmol l−1. All velocities revealed a biphasic response with an initial increase in motility and then inhibition at higher concentrations, but a significant difference from velocities in the absence of ornidazole was evident only for straight line velocity (VSL) at 50 mmol l−1. The rapidity of action in inducing infertility is compatible with post-testicular action and an action on the epididymis is suggested by the decline in motility parameters of luminal spermatozoa. The lack of effect on epididymal secretions in vivo and on sperm motility in vitro, except at very high doses, suggests that there may be a direct action of an ornidazole metabolite on epididymal spermatozoa.
Reproduction is committed to supporting researchers in demonstrating the impact of their articles published in the journal.
The two types of article metrics we measure are (i) more traditional full-text views and pdf downloads, and (ii) Altmetric data, which shows the wider impact of articles in a range of non-traditional sources, such as social media.
More information is on the Reasons to publish page.
| Sept 2018 onwards | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Text Views | 304 | 133 | 6 |
| PDF Downloads | 357 | 131 | 12 |
Online ISSN: 1741-7899
Print ISSN: 1470-1626
Strengthening biomedical communities
to advance science and health
CONTACT US
Bioscientifica Ltd | Starling House | 1600 Bristol Parkway North | Bristol BS34 8YU | UK
Bioscientifica Ltd | Registered in England no 3190519