α-Tocopherol Prevents Sperm Apoptosis and Necrosis in Rats Exposed to 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

Figure 2

Apoptotic and necrotic spermatozoa of rats exposed to TCDD and treated with α-tocopherol. Rats in the control group (C) were administered 0.5 mL of corn oil twice daily at 4 h intervals for 45 d. Rats in groups T0, T1, T2, and T3 were administered TCDD 700 ng/kg BW daily and 4 h later were administered corn oil, 77, 140, and 259 mg/kg BW daily α-tocopherol, respectively, for 45 d. The membrane of apoptotic spermatozoa will be green with yellowish cytoplasm and nucleus, and necrotic spermatozoa will be brown. Meanwhile, live spermatozoa were green (acridine orange staining), at 100× magnification under a fluorescence microscope (Nikon Eclipse E800, Tokyo, Japan).