Figure 5.

The effects of SiNPs on the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in testis of mice.

Notes: (A–C) The apoptotic cells were confirmed by TUNEL in every group on the 45th day after the first dose. The apoptotic cells were observed by a fluorescence microscope. SiNPs increased the proportion of apoptosis cells. (D–F) The apoptotic cells were confirmed by TUNEL in every group on the 75th day after the first dose. The apoptosis in the SiNPs group and the saline control group displayed no significant difference on the 75th day after the first dose. The apoptosis of spermatogenic cells was detected by TUNEL assay. Data are expressed as the mean ± standard error from three independent experiments. *P<0.05 vs the saline control group. The white arrow represents the apoptosis of cells. Saline group represents the saline control group. The data indicated that SiNPs could increase the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells.

Abbreviations: SiNPs, silica nanoparticles; TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling.