Author(s)

Mama Sy, Racha Kamenda Ibondou, Fatoumata Bah, Robert Foko, Ndiaga Diop, Mame Vénus, Abdoulaye Séga, Cheikh Diop, Mamadou Fall, Oumar Faye

Laboratory of Histology, Embryology and Cytogenetics, Faculty of Medecine, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal.

Introduction: Inappropriate and excess vitamin supplementation, particularly for vitamin A, is increasingly recognized as a public health problem in developed countries. On the other hand, blind supplementation of vitamin A, for children in developing countries is a subject of controversy in the literature. The crucial role of vitamin A in the process of spermatogenesis in adult rodents is well established, but only a few publications are consecrated to the long-term effect of vitamin A intake at a young age on testicular development and differentiation. Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of acute supplementation at an early age, in the post-natal period, on spermatogenesis and testicular trophicity at adult age. Material and Methods: Young Wistar Albinos rats of 22 days received an acute high dose of supplementation of vitamin A (retinyl palmitate). The control group, group 1, received only extra virgin olive oil, Group 2 a dose of 7000 IU/kg of retinyl palmitate, group 3, 14,000 IU/kg, and Group 4 a dose of 28,000 IU/kg. At 10 weeks of age, the testes’ testosterone levels were measured by ELISA. For histological assessment, sections were stained with Hematoxylin eosin, and the Johnsen score was used to evaluate spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubules. Results: The average testicular weights of rats were significantly lower in group 4 (p < 0.05), and so was the testosterone level in the testis compared to the control group (p < 0.01). Most of the seminiferous tubules were concerned by an arrest of spermatogenesis and the Johnsen score was decreased with a mean score of 5.96 ± 1.60 (p < 0.001) in that Group. In Group 3, Johnsen’s score was significantly better than the one obtained with the control. Conclusion: We observed a negative effect in the long term with a high acute dose of supplementation of retinyl palmitate at a young age, on testicular development and differentiation. Despite a return to normal diet after that supplementation, during childhood, impaired spermatogenesis was identified at the adult age with an arrest of spermatogenesis. The reversibility of that lack of differentiation by a return to a normal diet is questionable and would need more investigation.

Vitamin A, Retinyl Palmitate, Spermatogenesis, Testis-Wistar Albino Rats

Sy, M. , Ibondou, R. , Bah, F. , Foko, R. , Diop, N. , Vénus, M. , Séga, A. , Diop, C. , Fall, M. and Faye, O. (2024) Long-Term Impact of Acute Retinoic Acid Supplementation at the Young Age on Testicular Architecture of Wistar Albino Rats. Advances in Reproductive Sciences, 12, 1-13. doi: 10.4236/arsci.2024.121001.