A histological study of the effects of benzene on testicular tissues in adult male rats

Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon and a colorless and odorous liquid. Benzene is also an important industrial solvent. It is used in the production of plastics, detergents, pesticides, and other chemicals. In addition, benzene, as a chemical agent, causes environmental pollution. Nowadays, 75% of benzene is obtained from oil. The rest is tar that is produced from coal. Benzene is found mostly in mineral oils, natural gas, and smoke. Serious deterioration is seen in sperm production in people who are exposed to aromatic solvents found in paints, lacquers, adhesive and hydrocarbons such as ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylene in their professions. In this study, the effects of benzene on testicular tissues were examined. In this study, 18 Wistar albino male rats, with a mean age of 8-10 weeks and weighing 250-300 grams were used. The rats were divided into 3 groups. Group I, which is the control group, has no application. 1 ml/kg benzene was given to Group II for 9 days starting from the first day, and 1,5 ml/kg benzene was given to Group III for 5 days starting from the first day via orogastric method. By the end of the experiment, the rats were decapitated and their testicular tissues were removed and after routine histological examining, histological staining and TUNEL method was performed. Compared with the control group, the testicular tissues of rats exposed to benzene; thinning in seminiferous tubule epithelial presented expansions in the cytoplasmic vacuoles, lumen separation in seminiferous tubules basal lamina, affusion of seminiferous tubule epithelium to the lumen and affusion in spermatogenic cells (desquamation), degenerative changes in germ cells (spermatogonia), degenerative tubule structures, mononuclear cell infiltration between seminiferous tubules, hemorrhage, atrophy, giant cells, edema, disorder in intermediate tissues, absence of epithelial integrity, pyknosis in Leydig cells, and hollow areas in the seminiferous tubule epithelium were observed. Compared with the control group, the rats exposed to benzene revealed a significant increase in apoptotic cells in the seminiferous tubules as a result of examining TUNEL staining under the light microscope to identify apoptotic cells. As a result, it was observed that exposing to benzene for various reasons resulted in degeneration in the testicle tissues and an increase in the number of apoptotic cells.