* Daily exposure to silver nanoparticles during prepubertal development decreases adult sperm and reproductive parameters.
- As silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have antimicrobial properties and potentiate the activity of some antibiotics, they are broadly used in both medical and nonmedical applications. In this study, prepubertal male Wistar rats were orally treated with 15 or 30 µg/kg/day AgNPs from postnatal day 23 (PND23) to PND58 and sacrificed at PND102. The acrosome integrity, plasma membrane integrity, mitochondrial activity and morphological alterations of the sperm were analyzed. Sexual partner preference, sexual behavior and the serum concentrations of FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol were also recorded. The results were evaluated following the appropriate statistical analyses, and differences among the groups were considered significant when p < 0.05. AgNPs reduced the acrosome and plasma membrane integrities, reduced the mitochondrial activity and increased the abnormalities of the sperm in both treatment groups. AgNP exposure also delayed the onset of puberty, although no changes in body growth were observed in either treatment group. The animals did not show changes in sexual behavior or serum hormone concentrations. This study shows for the first time that prepubertal exposure to AgNPs causes alterations in adult sperm parameters. Importantly, the sperm appeared to be more sensitive to the toxic effects of AgNPs and demonstrated adverse effects following exposure to lower doses. Consequently, the effects of AgNPs on sperm should be considered in order to establish safety limits for the use of these particles.
=>茂み, 成長, 増加, 発展, 栽培, 腫よう, 成長物
Overview of noun growth
The noun growth has 7 senses (first 5 from tagged texts)
1. (37) growth, growing, maturation, development, ontogeny, ontogenesis -- ((biology) the process of
an individual organism growing organically; a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an
organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level; "he proposed an indicator of
osseous development in children")
2. (20) growth -- (a progression from simpler to more complex forms; "the growth of culture")
3. (3) increase, increment, growth -- (a process of becoming larger or longer or more numerous or
more important; "the increase in unemployment"; "the growth of population")
4. (3) growth -- (vegetation that has grown; "a growth of trees"; "the only growth was some salt
grass")
5. (1) emergence, outgrowth, growth -- (the gradual beginning or coming forth; "figurines presage
the emergence of sculpture in Greece")
6. growth -- ((pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumor))
7. growth -- (something grown or growing; "a growth of hair")
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