Effect of Manganese on Apoptosis,p53 and Bcl-2 Expression in Spermatogenic Cells of Rats

Objective To study the effect of manganese chloride on apoptosis,p53 and Bcl-2 expression in the spermatogenic cells of rats.Methods 24 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups.Two groups were treated with MnCl2·4H2O through intraperitoneal injection at 15 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg respectively,once a day and 5 times in a week for four weeks,the third group served as the control and given normal saline.The spermatogenic cell apoptosis was examined by transmission electronic microscope and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)technique.Expression of p53 and Bcl-2 were measured with immunohistochemistry.Results The apoptosis index(AI)and p53-positive-cell rate in manganese exposed group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P0.01)with a significant dose-response relationship(P0.01).Bcl-2-positive-cell rate in 30 mg/kg group was significantly lower than those in the control group and 15 mg/kg group(P0.01).Conclusion The up-regulated expression of p53 and the down-regulated expression of Bcl-2 may play an important role in the apoptosis of rat spermatogenic cells induced by manganese.