Evaluation of testicular toxicology of doxorubicin based on microarray analysis of testicular specific gene expression

J Toxicol Sci. 2011 Oct;36(5):559-67. doi: 10.2131/jts.36.559.

Abstract

Testicular toxicity of chemical substances has been generally assessed by sperm properties and histology. However, the methods can provide only a few information of the mechanism of the toxicity. The aim of this study is to show a method that can evaluate an overview of testicular toxic mechanisms using a tissue-specific microarray and classification of genes using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Male ICR mice (6 weeks old) were treated with doxorubicin hydrochloride (0, 0.1, 0.3 mg/kg/time, three times per week) by subcutaneous injection for 6 weeks (until 11 weeks old). Six weeks after the final administration, tissue and blood samples were obtained. Testes were subjected to gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR and cDNA microarray (testis2). To interpret the microarray data, genes were classified using MeSH related to the functions of testis and sperm. Doxorubicin (both 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg group) induced a decrease in sperm normal morphology and mortality, daily sperm production, and the number of Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules. Quantitative RT-PCR and microarray analysis showed dysregulation of mRNA expression levels of genes related to Sertoli cells, germ cells and spermatogenesis. Analysis of microarray data showed a significant enrichment of a total of ten MeSH categories including Spermatogenesis, Sertoli cells, Germ cells and Male infertility. This article concluded that analysis using testicular specific microarray combined with MeSH showed a more comprehensive overview of testicular toxic mechanisms than existing methods; i.e., examination of sperm properties and the histological examinations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Count
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Doxorubicin / toxicity*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Gene Expression / drug effects*
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Male
  • Medical Subject Headings
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis*
  • Organ Size / drug effects
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sertoli Cells / cytology
  • Sertoli Cells / drug effects
  • Sperm Motility / drug effects
  • Spermatogenesis / drug effects
  • Spermatozoa / drug effects
  • Spermatozoa / pathology
  • Testis / drug effects*
  • Testis / metabolism
  • Testis / pathology

Substances

  • Doxorubicin