Sperm quality in mice acutely treated with parathion

Aim: To investigate the toxic effect of a single injection of the organophosphorous agropesticide, parathion, on sper-matogenesis in immature male mice. Methods: Seven-day old mice received a single injection of parathion intraperi-toneally at a dose of 1/3 LD_50. The epididymal sperm count, sperm morphology and chromatin thermal stability wereanalyzed 28 and 50 days after injection. Results: Sperm counts were decreased and teratozoospermia and thermal de-naturation of DNA increased after parathion injection. Sperm parameters were changed to a greater extent in younger an-imals, denoting a higher lability of spermatogenic process at its beginning. The damages could recover a long time afterparathion administration. Conclusion: Organophosphorous agropesticides are testicular toxicants, eliciting reversiblecytotoxic and cytogenetic alterations in germ cells.