Seminiferous Epithelium of Rats with Food Restriction and Cirrhosis

Objective: Analyze the changes in the seminiferous epithelium in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis (CCl 4 ). Materials and Methods: Forty-eight male Wistar rats aged 45-50 days, weighing 150-180 grams were used. Twenty-two rats underwent CCl 4 -induced cirrhosis with CCl 4 0.25 mL/Kg weekly intragastrically once a week, during 10 weeks. Additionally, they had a 44% food restriction diet (Group 1). The control group was divided in two subgroups: 13 rats had a 44% food restriction diet and no CCl 4 (Group 2) and 10 rats were not submitted to CCl 4 or food restriction (Group 3). After 10 weeks, the rats were sacrificed and liver sections were collected for histological analysis. The testicular analysis was carried out to evaluate the frequency of tubules in stages VIII and XIV. Results: The mean rates of stage VIII in animals with food restriction plus CCl 4 -induced cirrhosis and food restriction without CCl 4 were significantly different from animals without either food restriction or CCl 4 (18.1 ± 5.5%, 20.5 ± 2.5% and 13.4 ± 3.5%, respectively, p = 0.002). The mean rate of stage VIII in rats with cirrhosis was not significantly different from rats without cirrhosis (18.1 ± 5.5% and 17.4 ± 4.6% respectively). The mean frequency of stage XIV in rats with cirrhosis was significantly greater than rats without cirrhosis (4.7 ± 2.3% and 6.8 ± 1.9% respectively, p = 0.027). Conclusion: Animals with CCl 4 -induced cirrhosis and food restriction have shown alterations in spermatogenic cycle that were not seen in rats without CCl 4 -induced cirrhosis and food restriction.