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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter November 18, 2016

Bonny light crude oil-induced alteration in levels of testicular stress proteins is accompanied by apoptosis in rats after treatment withdrawal

  • Azubuike P. Ebokaiwe EMAIL logo , Premendu P. Mathur and Ebenezer O. Farombi

Abstract

Background:

The folkloric use of Bonny light crude oil (BLCO) in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders and as an anti-poison is a generally acceptable practice in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The testicular dysfunction induced by BLCO exposure is of public concern with a view to its folkloric usage. The present study investigated the effects of BLCO exposure and withdrawal on the levels of testicular stress proteins and apoptosis-related proteins in rats.

Methods:

Adult male Wistar rats were exposed to 800 mg/kg body weight of BLCO for 7 days. One-half of the rats in each group were sacrificed on day 8, while the remaining one-half stayed an additional 45 days without treatment.

Results:

Western blot analysis showed that administration of BLCO resulted in a significant increase in the levels of stress proteins and apoptosis-related proteins by 50% and above relative to control, except cytosolic nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which decreased significantly relative to control. This was followed by a concomitant increase in the expression of caspase-3, FasL, and NF-κB by immunofluorescence staining within the testicular germ cells. Apoptosis showed a significant increase in TUNEL-positive cells. Following withdrawal of treatment, BLCO-mediated alteration in stress proteins and induction of apoptosis persisted relative to control.

Conclusions:

Collectively, BLCO induced irreversible alteration in testicular stress proteins and apoptosis in rats within the time course of investigation. These findings highlight the potential long-term adverse effects of BLCO on individuals unduly exposed to BLCO.

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pondicherry University, India, for their assistance towards this research. We acknowledge the Research Training for Developing Country Scientist fellowship awarded to Azubuike Peter Ebokaiwe.

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: Research Training for Developing Country Scientist awarded to A.P.E.

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2016-2-24
Accepted: 2016-8-22
Published Online: 2016-11-18
Published in Print: 2017-3-1

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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