Arsenic is commonly found in the natural environment and is toxic agent for living organism in many countries in the world. Studies on animal models suggest that exposure to arsenic may cause reproductive toxicity; however, effect of arsenic on reproductive toxicity has still not been clearly described. This study was focused on cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and the antioxidant defense system induced with exposure to sodium arsenite in Mus musculus Leydig and Sertoli cells. The cells were exposed to two different concentrations of sodium arsenite of 50 ppb (0.4 μM) and 1000 ppb (7.7 μM) for 24, 48, and 72 h. Following the exposure time, cell viability, cell proliferation, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were determining using colorimetric method. Also, we evaluated oxidative stress markers such as glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide levels, and cellular enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-s-transferase, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT). As a result, sodium arsenite exposure in Leydig and Sertoli cells caused cellular cytotoxicity and downregulated the antioxidant defense system by inducing oxidative stress depending on concentration and time. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that when compared with Sertoli cells, Leydig cells were more affected by arsenite toxicity.
Keywords: Sodium arsenite; antioxidant system; cytotoxicity; male reproductive cells; reactive oxygen species.