Open Access

ARTICLE

The peptide fraction of Bothrops jararaca snake venom induces toxicological effects on the male reproductive system after local envenomation in mice

by CARLOS ALBERTO-SILVA^1,*, ANA CAROLINA DE ARAUJO¹, RODRIGO SIMãO BONFIM¹, JOYCE MEIRE GILIO²

1 Natural and Humanities Sciences Center, Experimental Morphophysiology Laboratory, Federal University of ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, 09606-070, Brazil
2 Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, 04023-062, Brazil

* Corresponding Author: CARLOS ALBERTO-SILVA. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular and Molecular Toxicology in Reproductive and Developmental Biology)

BIOCELL 2023, 47(2), 289-295. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.023787

Received 15 May 2022; Accepted 23 August 2022; Issue published 18 November 2022

Abstract

Bothrops envenomation is complex and provokes prominent local tissue damage and systemic disturbances, but little is known about their effects on the male reproductive system. After intratesticular injection, the bioactive peptide fraction (Bj-PF) obtained from Bothrops jararaca snake venom changes the structure of different stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle in adult mice. For the first time, we investigated whether local envenomation of Bj-PF induces toxicological effects on the male reproductive system, particularly on the seminiferous epithelium and Sertoli cells. Male adult mice were treated with 0.24 mg.kg⁻¹ by intramuscular (i.m.) injection for 24 h. The testes samples were collected for morphological and morphometric evaluation. The toxicological effects of Bj-PF were also analyzed on mitochondrial metabolism and nitrite (NO₂) production in 15P-1 Sertoli cell culture. Bj-PF changed the structure and function of the seminiferous epithelium, particularly the disruption of the epithelium and the presence of degenerated germ cells in the adluminal compartment, but there were no alterations in the basal compartment. Bj-PF increased the thickness of the seminiferous epithelium and decreased the lumen diameter of the tubule. Semiquantitative histological assessment of the degree of tubule degeneration revealed that Bj-PF also increased the number of hypospermatogenic tubules compared to control. Bj-PF reduced NO₂ levels in 15P-1 Sertoli cells without changing the mitochondrial metabolism. Overall, the fact that Bj-PF alters the structure and function of the seminiferous epithelium suggests that bioactive peptides found in B. jararaca snake venom can have toxicological effects on the reproductive systems of affected male mice, providing new insight into the biological characteristics of snake venom and therapeutic strategies for envenomation inflammation.

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