Delayed puberty onset and reduced sperm quality in male rats

P011
Delayed puberty onset and reduced sperm quality in male
rats prenatally exposed to betamethasone
Wilma De Grava Kempinas, Cibele dos Santos Borges,
Ana Flávia Mota Gonçalves Dias,
Raquel Frenedoso Silva, Aline Lima Barros,
Patrícia Villela Silva, Marina Trevizan Guerra,
Marciana Sanabria and Gabriela Missassi
Institute of Biosciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista,
Botucatu, Brazil
Introduction: Betamethasone is a drug of choice for antenatal
treatment. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the age of
puberty onset and sperm quality in male rats whose mothers received
betamethasone during gestation. Material and Methods: Pregnant
Wistar rats were allocated into control group and treated with 0.1mg/
kg betamethasone on gestational days 12,13,18 and 19. Maternal
weight gain and the following parameters of male offspring (n=10/
group, 2 males/litter) were evaluated: body weight and anogenital
distance on postnatal day (PND) 1, body weight on PND21 (weaning)
and age of preputial separation (evaluated from PND30 onwards).
One male from each litter was killed on PDN45 and reproductive
organ weights and testosterone levels were obtained. The other male
(PDN90) was used to perform fertility tests. Sperm retrieved from the
epididymal cauda was also utilized to evaluate sperm motility and
morphology. Student´s t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used to statistically compare the results. Results and discussion: The following
results, observed in the treated group, significantly differ from the
control group (p<0.05): maternal weight gain and the weight of male
litters on PND1 were reduced; preputial separation was delayed; on
PDN45 testosterone levels were decreased; testis weight increased
and seminal gland weight decreased. At adulthood these alterations
remained and additionally the ventral prostate weight decreased in
the treated group; the incidence of abnormal sperm increased; sperm
motility and fertility potential were decreased. Thus, our findings show
that intrauterine betamethasone exposure delayed puberty installation
and reduced sperm quality in male rats. Funding: FAPESP, CAPES.