Abstract：
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have wide applications in daily life. Therefore, there is growing interest in the potential harmful impacts of these particles on human health. The present study was conducted to investigate the potential toxic effects of ZnO NPs (40 and 70 nm) compared to ZnO on the testes of rats. ZnO NPs were synthesized and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8): Group I (control), Group II (ZnO) received daily oral administration of ZnO (50 mg/kg), and Groups III and IV received daily oral administration of ZnO NPs of 40 nm or 70 nm at 50 mg/kg, respectively. All treatments continued for 50 consecutive days. ZnO and ZnO NPs reduced body and testis weights, sperm count and motility, serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels, testicular cytochrome p450 17A1 (CYP17A1) and cytochrome p450 1B1 (CYP1B1) concentrations, and the expression of p53 and cdk1. These treatments elevated testicular myeloperoxidase and serum acid phosphatase activities as well as sperm abnormalities. ZnO NPs reduced LH levels, which decreased CYP17A1 and CYP1B1, resulting in reduced synthesis of testosterone. ZnO NPs enhanced testicular inflammation and reduced cell viability. All these effects were manifested as reduced sperm motility and increased sperm deformities. Compared to macromolecules, nanoparticles exhibited significantly higher toxicity. The larger diameter ZnO NPs had more profound toxicity than the smaller-sized particles.
摘要：
氧化锌纳米粒子(ZnONPs)在日常生活中有着广泛的应用。因此,人们对这些颗粒对人类健康的潜在有害影响越来越感兴趣。本研究旨在研究与ZnO相比，ZnONPs（40和70nm）对大鼠睾丸的潜在毒性作用。合成了ZnONPs，并通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）和X射线衍射（XRD）对其进行了表征。成年雄性大鼠随机分为4组(n=8):I组(对照组),II组（ZnO）每天口服ZnO（50mg/kg），第III组和第IV组每天口服40nm或70nm的ZnONP，剂量为50mg/kg，分别。所有治疗持续连续50天。ZnO和ZnONPs降低了身体和睾丸的重量，精子数量和活力，血清黄体生成素（LH）和睾酮水平，睾丸细胞色素P45017A1（CYP17A1）和细胞色素P4501B1（CYP1B1）浓度，p53和cdk1的表达。这些治疗提高了睾丸髓过氧化物酶和血清酸性磷酸酶活性以及精子异常。ZnONPs降低LH水平，这降低了CYP17A1和CYP1B1，导致睾酮合成减少。ZnONP增强睾丸炎症并降低细胞活力。所有这些作用都表现为精子活力降低和精子畸形增加。与大分子相比，纳米颗粒表现出明显更高的毒性。较大直径的ZnONP比较小尺寸的颗粒具有更大的毒性。
