Assessment of the toxicity of carvedilol on male reproductive system cells

Reproductive health-related problems are currently affecting people's quality of life. Epidemiological studies in recent years have indicated a decline in sperm quality among humans. This condition has been associated with increased environmental exposures, including medications. It is hypothesized that repeated exposure to certain drugs can also impact sperm quality in humans. This thesis aims to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of carvedilol, which is a drug that is commonly used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, on TM3 Leydig and TM4 Sertoli cells in vitro, and to determine the amount of reactive oxygen species in the cell lines as an underlying mechanism of potential toxicity. Our findings indicate that carvedilol exhibits dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on TM3 Leydig and TM4 Sertoli cells. However, it was observed that carvedilol did not induce the production of reactive oxygen species in these cell lines. Accordingly, it can be concluded that carvedilol has direct toxic effects on Leydig and Sertoli cells, which are cellular components of the testicular structure. The necessity of determining the levels of cellular antioxidants to understand whether this agent induces oxidative stress is emphasized.