Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/etap Silver nanoparticles testicular toxicity in rat Eman E. Elsharkawy ⁎ , Mahmoud. Abd El-Nasser, Heba F. Kamaly Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt ARTICLE INFO Keywords: silver nanoparticles testosterone hormone superoxide dismutase sperm DNA integrity ABSTRACT To evaluate the potential testicular toxicity induced by silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in Sprague Dawley rate. The protocol study was designed as follows: G1: 30 adult male rats were kept as control. G2: 30 adult male rats were administered 5.36 mg/kg of AgNPs orally, twice weekly for six months. G3: 30 adult male rats were adminis- tered 13.4 mg/kg of AgNPs orally, twice weekly for six months. The results of hormonal assay revealed that a significant decrease in testosterone level while a significant increase in LH level was obtained. The testicular homogenate showed a significant decrease in SOD activity accompanied by a significant increase in MDA level in both G2 and G3 in comparison with the control in a dose-response relationship. Sperm viability indicates a significant decrease in rats in G2 and G3 groups. A significant decrease in DNA chromatin integrity % was obtained in rats of G3 in comparison with G2 and control. The semithin and TEM sections of the testis of G2 and G3 groups showed Sertoli cells have vacuolations with a disturbance in the arrangement and the staining affinity of spermatogenic cells. The spermatogonia appeared with a moderate electron density of the nucleus and cy- toplasm. The acrosome and its cap become oval and light electron dens of spermatid cells. 1. Introduction Nanotechnology creates several new potential solutions in nu- merous branches of science and trade. It is currently being used in biomedicine, cosmetology, pharmacy, optoelectronics, animal hus- bandry, crop production, food processing and plastics (Pulit et al., 2011a-b). Nanoparticles (NPs) have been known from centuries, where the word Nano comes from Greek meaning dwarf, nanoparticles have at least one dimension that is between 1-100 nm (Duran et al., 2014). Excessive uses of NPs may be hazardous to human health and the environment. It has been demonstrated that nanoparticles can enter the body of an organism through various routes such as dermal, oral and respiratory tract (Roy et al., 2014). The exposure to NPs can occur through GIT via water, food, cosmetics, drugs, and drug delivery de- vices which cause various toxicological effects (Bockmann et al., 2000), or through nasal region (Oberdorster et al., 2005), where the lungs and airways are the most important exposure sites for involuntary exposure to nanoparticles, respiratory exposure to nanoparticles caused local pulmonary effects (Wilson et al., 2002). Then passed from the lungs into the circulatory and lymphatic system and reached secondary target organs (heart, liver, brain, and testicles) (Panyala et al., 2008). Nano- sized particles can pass through biological membranes and penetrate even very small capillaries throughout the body (e.g., pass through blood-brain and blood testes barriers). Size, morphology, and surface area are recognized as important determinants for the toxicity of na- noparticles (Ji et al. 2007). Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is one of metallic nanomaterial which receives a lot of attention due to its potential adverse effects on humans and environment (Wiesner et al., 2009) and their usage in several areas as engineering, medicine, chemistry, and physics (Marambio-Jones and Hoek, 2010). Their release and effects are studied widely (Geranio et al., 2009 and Kaegi et al., 2010), while the data on the toxicological implication of silver nanoparticles is limited (Chen and Schluesener 2008). The wide range of use of AgNPs in medical devices, clothing, household water filters, contraceptives, antibacterial sprays, cosmetics, detergents, cooking utensils, cell phones, computers and children’s toys is likely to result in an increase in the concentration of AgNPs discharge to our ecosystems (Marambio-Jones and Hoek, 2010). Silver nanoparticles toxic effects include cytotoxicity, lethality, oxidative stress, DNA and cell membrane damage, mitochondrial mal- function, inflammation and decreased cellular proliferation (Lankoff et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2012). Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential toxic effects of different doses of silver nano- particles on the male reproductive system in albino rats. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2019.103194 Received 21 February 2019; Received in revised form 6 April 2019; Accepted 11 May 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: medicine1971@yahoo.com (E.E. Elsharkawy). Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 70 (2019) 103194 Available online 21 May 2019 1382-6689/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T