Estradiol affects androgen-binding protein expression and fertilizing ability of spermatozoa in adult male rats

The estrogenicity of certain environmental pollutants is being increasingly correlated to decline in sperm counts and fertility of the males. Qualitative effects, if any, of estrogen(s) on terminal differentiation of spermatids have been less reported. The present study suggests that exposure to estrogen(s) can also alter the status of condensed chromatin in testicular spermatozoa and reduce their fertilizing potential. A significant reduction was evident in the serum gonadotropins, testosterone, weights of reproductive organs, sperm counts and litters sired by male rats after 10 days of estradiol exposure to a dose of 0.1 mg/kg/day. Estradiol treatment led to retardation of in vitro decondensation rates of sperm chromatin, reduction in the uptake of acridine orange dye by chromatin, reduction in susceptibility of chromatin to acid denaturation in vitro, reduced uptake of thiol reactive monobromobimane dye and reduced levels of immunoreactive protamine1 in caput epididymal sperms. Concomitantly, testicular levels of immunoreactive protamine1, transition proteins 1/2 and cyclic adenosyl response element modulator-tau (CREMτ) were significantly reduced whilst their mRNA levels were unaffected after estradiol treatment. A significant increase was observed in the testicular mRNA levels of androgen-binding protein (ABP) in estradiol treated sires. An inverse correlation was observed between ABP mRNA levels and uptake of acridine orange by estradiol treated caput sperm chromatin. The results suggest that estradiol-induced increase in ABP mRNA underlies the mechanism(s) involved in the reduction in levels of certain proteins involved in nuclear chromatin condensation during spermiogenesis.