Alteration of collagen type IV and laminin α5 expression in seminiferous tubules of BALB/c mice following methamphetamine exposure

Abstract

Methamphetamine (METH) is a stimulant of the central nervous system that damages the genital system. This study was conducted to evaluate changes in expression levels of collagen type IV and laminin α5 after METH administration in the testis of adult mice. METH decreased the RNA expression of collagen type IV and laminin α5. In addition, the collagen IV and laminin α5 protein level in the seminiferous tubules of the METH group was decreased significantly. It seems that METH negatively affects fertility by reducing the expression of collagen type IV and laminin α5 and alters the contents of the extracellular matrix (ECM).

Keywords:

• Collagen IV
• seminiferous tubules
• laminin α5
• methamphetamine

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mrs. Tajik and Mrs. Amini for their technical assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The results described in this article are based on the results of a Ph.D. thesis that was supported financially by the grant (950073) from the vice chancellor for research, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.