BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS IN MOUSE TESTIS AFTER THE COMBINED TREATMENT OF RADIATION AND CADMIUM CHLORIDE

In today’s world a combined exposure to physical, chemical and biological agents is unavoidable. Such situation can occur in the environment as well as in the work place. For risk estimates, it is desirable and often necessary to take such combined exposure into account. Combined action of ionizing radiation and other agents are of potentially great importance, because there are many occasions where interactions might occur in our environment. In the light of above, the present study was aimed to evaluate the combined effect of radiation and cadmium on the testis of Swiss albino mice. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 14 and 28 days post- treatment. To investigate the existence of the synergistic or additive effects of radiation and cadmium chloride, biochemical changes in the testis were performed. It was found that sialic acid decreased while the activity of acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase increased in all the three exposures. Such decline was observed with higher dose (5.00Gy) at early intervals. Recovery started at day 10 or 14 but standard value could not be attained upto the last intervals. A similar decreasing pattern was observed with 2.5 and 1.25 Gy, but it was found comparatively very less with 5.0 Gy group. The recovery was also faster in these groups. Results indicated that the infliction of radiation insults and subsequent repair in the testes to be dose dependent. In combined treatment the pattern of biochemical changes was similar to individual treatment but the magnitude of their occurrences was statistically higher and the normal value could not be attained even at the last autopsy (28 days). Thus the damage and recovery pattern in combined treatment (radiation and cadmium chloride) indicates the synergistic effect of these two agents when given simultaneously.