Background:Cadmium (Cd) is an important cause of infertility among occupational workers.Thymoquinone(TQ) is a medical extract from Nigella sativa (NS), used as a natural remedy for many diseases through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.
Aim of the work: to study the histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical effects of TQ on cd induced toxicity of leydig cells in adult male albino rats.
Materials and Methods: Forty adult male rats included and divided equally into 4 groups: group I (control group), group II received daily oral dose of Cd (0.5 mg/ kg ) by gastric tube for 6 weeks, group III received daily oral dose of TQ( 100 mg/kg) by gastric tube for 6weeks and group IV received TQ then Cd by the same dose for6weeks.Right testis specimens were taken and processed for light microscopy[stained with H&E] and electron microscopy[stained with toluidine blue for semithin sections] to evaluate Leydig cells structure. Morphometric study of Leydig cells stained immunohistochemicaly by testosterone ab1 and biochemical measurements of serum total testosterone(TT)and luteinizing hormone(LH) were performed and followed by statistical analysis.
Results: Microscopic study of group II showed apoptotic shrunken Leydig cells with deeply acidophilic cytoplasm and deeply stained nuclei, while electron microscopic results showed few mitochondria, few sER, large cytoplasmic vacuoles and heterochromatin margination. This was confirmed immunohistochemicaly by significant decrease in area % of testosterone ab1 and biochemicaly by significant decrease in serum TT and significant increase in serum LH. Group III showed similar results to those of group I while group IV showed improvement of histological, morphometric and biochemical changes described before in group II.
Conclusion: TQ has a protective effect on Leydig cell damage induced by Cd toxicity as it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. It is advised to take diet rich in TQ such as NS for workers dealing with Cd.
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