• Dalila Rahali, Aicha Jrad-Lamine, Yosra Dallagi, Yassine Bdiri, Nathalie Ba, Michele El May, Saloua El Fazaa, and El Golli Narges N Laboratory of Aggression Physiology and Endocrine Metabolite Studies, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, El Manar University, 2092 Tunis, Tunis.
• Laboratory of Aggression Physiology and Endocrine Metabolite Studies, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, El Manar University, 2092 Tunis, Tunisia.
• Chinese J Physiol. 2018 Apr 30; 61 (2): 75-84.

AbstractElectronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are devices intended to substitute conventional cigarettes, with the aim of being less harmful. In a previous report, we showed that intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of e-cigarette liquid (E-liquid), with or without nicotine, induced toxicity in the testes of Wistar rats by disrupting oxidative balance and steroidogenesis. In the present work, we further evaluated the impact of e-liquid with or without nicotine on the epididymis of rats using the same procedure. Results showed that e-liquid treatments led to alteration of semen parameters, with a significant drop of at least 50% in sperm vitality, a significant increase of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa and an imbalance of redox status in comparison to the control group. A significant raise of 1.4 fold, compared to the untreated rats, in myeloperoxidase (MPO) granules after both treatments was recorded, suggesting an inflammatory state. Histopathological examination confirmed a marked reduction in sperm count in the cauda epididymis. Data of this study suggest that the pro-oxidant properties of e-liquid with or without nicotine, in addition to testicular defects, could lead to an inflammatory state in the epididymis, causing alterations in the semen parameters. These data provide additional information on the impact of e-liquid on the reproductive system.

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