Shahid Pervez Shaikh, Maria Mohiuddin, Amjad Ali, Zeeshan Qamar, Inayatullah, Hemant Kumar.
Protective effects of zinc chloride on azathioprine induced toxicity on germinal epithelium of albino rats: a morphometric study.
Pak J Surg Jan ;36(1):83-9.

Objective: To determine the effects of azathioprine on germinal epithelium and evaluate the possible protection provided by co-administration of zinc chloride. Design: A prospective experimental study. Place of study: Anatomy Department, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi from January 2016 till January 2017. Material and Methods: For this study 60-male adult albino rats of 90-120 days of age were selected and distributed into three equal groups A, B and C. Th ey were further divided into four sub-groups for 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8th weeks of the treatment. Group-A served as control, received only injection 0.9 % normal saline intraperitoneally daily, group-B received Inj. azathioprine 15mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally daily and group-C received Inj. azathioprine 15mg/ kg body weight plus Inj. zinc chloride 1mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally daily. At the end of the respective period of treatment, animals were sacrificed. Both testes were excised, fixed in Bouin`s solution for 24 hours. After processing in ascending grades of alcohol, cleared in xylene and fixed in paraffin, 5 u thick sections were cut and stained with PAS-Iron Haematoxylin for study of seminiferous tubules morphology and micrometry. Results: The tubules were compact, regularly arranged with intact basement membrane. The lumens of germinal epithelium contain mature spermatozoa in control group-A. The spaces between seminiferous tubules were increased with area of necrosis, the basement membrane of most of tubules were distorted and ruptured, the vacuoles between the germinal epithelium were appeared and the lumen contain slough without spermatozoa in group-B. There was widening of intertubular spaces, the tubules were wavy but basement membrane intact. Lumens were narrow and contained spermatozoa without slough in group-C, otherwise features similar to control. Conclusion: Azathioprine produced germinal epithelium toxicity which is more pronounced with time period and provided protection by zinc chloride.

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