Impact of morphine on the reproductivity of male rats

LIU Qing-zhen; SHAO Yong; SHANG Xue-jun; LI Wei-Yan

doi:10.13263/j.cnki.nja.2014.12.004

Abstract：Objective:To explore the effect of morphine on male reproductive ability and its mechanisms in the rat model of morphine tolerance.Methods:Twenty male SD rats were equally randomized to groups Ⅰ (control) and Ⅱ (morphine tolerance).On the 1 st day,the basic paw withdrawal thermal latency (PWTL) was obtained from all the rats followed by subcutaneous injection of morphine at 10 mg/kg and then calculation of the percentage of the maximal possible effect (MPE) at 30 min after administration.On the 2nd day,the rats of group Ⅰ were injected subcutaneously with saline and those of group Ⅱ with morphine at 10 mg/kg bid for 7 days.Then all the rats were killed after behavioral tests and their testes and epididymides harvested for sperm counting and determination of the expressions of Bax and Caspase-3 by immunohistochemistry.Results:On the 1 st day,no obvious differences were observed between the two groups in the basic PWTL or the percentage of MPE.On the 7th day,the percentage of MPE was significantly decreased in group Ⅱ as compared with group Ⅰ (P ＜ 0.05),while the basic PWTL showed no marked difference between the two groups.Group Ⅱ also exhibited a significantly reduced epididymal perm count (P ＜ 0.05) and remarkably upregulated expressions of Bax and Caspase-3 in comparison with group Ⅰ.Conclusion:Morphine might increase testicular cell apoptosis and reduce sperm concentration by upregulating the expressions of Bax and Caspase-3 in the rat model of morphine tolerance.