THE INFLUENCE OF PROTEIN-MALNUTRITION ON THE ANTIFERTILITY ACTION OF GOSSYPOL IS THE TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI-INFECTED RAT - SOME ULTRASTRUCTURALOBSERVATIONS FROM THE TESTIS

The testes of adult male Wistar rats that were variously protein malno urished, gossypol treated, and/or trypanosome infected (Trypanosoma br ucei) were evaluated ultrastructurally, The findings included several necrotic germ cells in the seminiferous epithelium and focal degenerat ion of Sertoli cells, Leydig cells showed a remarkable paucity of smoo th endoplasmic reticulum, and aggregation of mitochondria. These obser vations were prevalent in those animals that were simultaneously prote in-malnourished/gossypol treated/trypanosome infected, and were either absent or markedly reduced in the other groups, These structural alte rations are probably related to increased gossypol availability to the testis and/or represent the additive effects of gossypol and trypanos omes, Such tissue changes could compromise spermatogenesis in affected animals, and suggest that trypanosome infections may exacerbate testi cular lesions in the gossypol-treated rat. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science I nc.