Toxoplasma gondii: A Possible Inducer of Oxidative Stress in Reproductive System of Male Rats

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasmosis is suspected to have adverse effects on the male reproductive system. We aimed to determine the possible role of Toxoplasma gondii in oxidative stress in reproductive system of male rats. METHODS: This study was performed from 2018 until 2019 at the Parasitology Research Laboratory of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Eighty male Wistar rats were randomly divided to control and test groups. The animals in the test group were inoculated by 10(7) T. gondii RH strain tachyzoites and the control group were injected by 0.2 ml of phosphate-buffered saline. The both groups were following every 10 days until day 80 post inoculation. Oxidative stress markers (OSMs) including antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and nonenzymatic markers including malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were assessed in testis and serum of T. gondii infected rats. RESULTS: After post inoculation, the variations of the OSMs in the testis tissue of infected rats were as follows: a significant decrease of SOD on day 80 (P=0.03), and CAT activity were detected on day 60 and 80 (P=0.04 and P=0.01) respectively. In addition, GSH (P =0.01) and TAC (P =0.03) concentration were significantly reduced on day 80. On the contrary, the concentration of MDA (P =0.01) was increased 70 days after infection. In addition, consistent changes with the tissue testis were observed in the serum OSMs of infected rats. CONCLUSION: T. gondii infection caused oxidative stress in testis tissue. Thus, the adverse effects of oxidative stress may affect the male rat reproductive system.