Scientific Reports (Nov 2024)

The degree of toxoplasmosis and testicular histomorphometry in rats

  • Mamdouh Hegazy,
  • Walaa Elghanam,
  • Nora Aboulfotouh,
  • Heba Sheta,
  • Nora El-Tantawy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78653-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Abstract Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) ranks as the third most common parasitic parasite worldwide, and it is estimated that > 60% of the population is infected with T. gondii worldwide at some point in their lives. So. Therefore, it is highly curious that T. gondii could be a potential cause of idiopathic infertility that is incidental to male partners, who are responsible for nearly 50% of cases. Testicular histomorphometric analysis was developed to investigate fertility problems. The objective of this experimental study was to assess the impact of toxoplasmosis on spermatogenesis indicated by histomorphometric changes in rat testes and its correlation with the degree of infection in the brain. Ninety male Wistar albino rats were infected with T. gondii, and 30 male rats composed the control group. The studied parameters were investigated from the seventh week until the twelfth week postinfection by estimating the body weight, the weight of the testes, histopathological examination, and metric analysis of the testes. Each time, correlations were detected between the investigated parameters and the infection severity calculated by estimating the cyst burden in brain homogenates and brain lesion grading of stained histological sections.Our findings demonstrated a significant adverse impact of toxoplasmosis on absolute body weight, testis weight, and testis histomorphometry. The grading of brain lesions and the number of brain cysts paralleled each other. There was a reverse correlation between the gonado-somatic index and the number of brain cysts and brain lesion grade. There was a statistically significant correlation between the brain cyst count and the brain lesion grade and the indices 20 A, 20b, 250, and 200 of the testes metric analysis. Conclusion: Our results revealed that toxoplasmosis has an adverse impact on male rat spermatogenic cells, which in turn affects spermatogenesis and fertility. This impact is significantly correlated with the degree of latent infection in the brain.

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