Evaluation of the effect of implanted depleted uranium on male reproductive success, sperm concentration, and sperm velocity

Depleted uranium (DU) projectiles have been used in battle in Iraq and the Balkans and will continue to be a significant armor-penetrating munition for the US military. As demonstrated in the Persian Gulf War, battle injury from DU projectiles and shrapnel is a possibility, and removal of embedded DU fragments from the body is not always practical because of their location in the body or their small size. Previous studies in rodents have demonstrated that implanted DU mobilizes and translocates to the gonads, and natural uranium may be toxic to spermatazoa and the male reproductive tract. In this study, the effects of implanted DU pellets on sperm concentration, motility, and male reproductive success were evaluated in adult (P1) Sprague–Dawley rats implanted with 0, 12, or 20, DU pellets of 1×2 mm or 12 or 20 tantalum (Ta) steel pellets of 1×2 mm. Twenty DU pellets of 1×2 mm (760 mg) implanted in a 500-g rat are equal to approximately 0.2 pound of DU in a 154-lb (70-kg) person. Urinary analysis found that male rats implanted with DU were excreting uranium at postimplantation days 27 and 117 with the amount dependent on dose. No deaths or evidence of toxicity occurred in P1 males over the 150-day postimplantation study period. When assessed at postimplantation day 150, the concentration, motion, and velocity of sperm isolated from DU-implanted animals were not significantly different from those of sham surgery controls. Velocity and motion of sperm isolated from rats treated with the positive control compound α-chlorohydrin were significantly reduced compared with sham surgery controls. There was no evidence of a detrimental effect of DU implantation on mating success at 30–45 days and 120–145 days postimplantation. The results of this study suggest that implantation of up to 20 DU pellets of 1×2 mm in rats for approximately 21% of their adult lifespan does not have an adverse impact on male reproductive success, sperm concentration, or sperm velocity.