Reproductive toxicity of acrylamide-treated male rats

Acrylamide content is elevated in fried, baked and heat-processed starchy foods. The present experiment was conducted to investigate the reproductive toxicity of oral acrylamide in male rats. Thirty weaned SD male rats of 21-day-old were randomly allotted to three groups, and acrylamide was administered to each group at doses of 0, 5 and 10 mg/kg-d for 8 consecutive weeks. The results indicated that the growth of rats treated with acrylamide was retarded (P < 0.05), but relative weights of testes and epididymides compared to body weight were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Our results also indicate that the epididymal sperm reserves decreased significantly (P < 0.05), suggesting partial depletion of germ cells. In addition, histopathologic lesions were also present in the testes of treated rats. Furthermore, distinct expression patterns of sGC heterodimers were observed in this animal model. This may suggest different physiologic roles for sGC subunits in spermiogenesis and steroidogenesis.