Testicular germ cells apoptosis following exposure to chronic stress in rats

Objective: To evaluate the effects of chronic stress on testosterone hormone level and germ cells apoptosis in testes and the inhibitory role of glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, RU486. Methods: Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 6): control; stress; RU486; stress/RU486. Animals in RU486 and stress/RU486 subjected to subcutaneous injections of 2.5 mg RU486/kg 1 h before stress session. Rats were submitted to chronic restraint stress (1 h daily for 12 consecutive days) whereas control animals were not subjected to stress. Serum testosterone assay was performed and the occurrence of DNA fragmentation in the testis sections was examined using TUNEL staining. Results: Chronic restraint stress significantly induced a decrease in serum testosterone level with increase in apoptosis in spermatogonia. Systemic administration of RU486 significantly restored serum testosterone levels and attenuates stress-induced apoptosis in spermatogonia. Conclusion: The restraint stress-induced change in serum testosterone levels and seminiferous tubules apoptosis closely associated with the glucocorticoid receptor