Cytotoxicity and oxidative stress study in cultured rat Sertoli cells with Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) exposure

Cultured Sertoli cells were tested for their cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) which has been extensively used as a gasoline additive. In cytotoxic experiments, Sertoli cells were cultured with medium alone (control), 5, 500, or 50,000 μM MTBE. Lactate dehydrogcnase (LDH) leakage assay, staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and propidium iodide (PI), and flow cytometric analyses were used. In oxidative stress experiments, Sertoli cells were cultured with medium alone (control), 0.5, 50, or 5000 μM MTBE. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), maleic dialdehyde (MDA) content and the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in cell supernatants were measured. Meanwhile, the expression level of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosidase (OGG1) and extracellular form of superoxide dismutase (SODEX) in Sertoli cells were determined by RT-PCR. We also compared the current findings with the previous findings in rat spermatogenic cells exposed to MTBE. The present data indicate that high dose MTBE may exert a direct toxic effect on Sertoli cells. Oxidative stress induced by MTBE is a possible mechanism of cytotoxicity.