Figure 1
Comparison of luminal area cryosections of testes stained with Gill’s haematoxylin and eosin between a control and a phthalate-treated male rat
Table 1
Comparison of sperm-producing duct areas (μm2) between control (n=12) and phthalate-treated (n=12) male rats. Values are presented as means±standard deviations (SD)
| Items | Control (Mean±SD) | Phthalates (Mean±SD) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel area (μm2) | 100292±3768.6 | 103586±5053.5 | 0.595936 |
| Inner duct area (μm2) | 19419±1769 | 25151±1433.3 | 0.019613 |
| Inner duct area / channel area (μm2) | 188091±1430 | 241257±1130 | 0.008059 |
Figure 2
Comparison of representative micrographs of miR-15b-5p positive signals (green) in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 2 (CA2) region between a control and a phthalate-treated female rat
Figure 3
Relative number of miR-15b-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 1 (CA1) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=5), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=9), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=5), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=10). Sex × treatment interaction is significant (F1,25=8.3501, p=0.0078). ** p<0.01 and # p<0.05 vs respective male and female controls (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-2.778, p=0.017)
Figure 4
Relative number of miR-15b-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 2 (CA2) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=5), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=9), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=5), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=10). The sex effect (F1,25=4.9967, p=0.0345) and treatment effect (F1,25=4.7352, p=0.0392) are significant. * p<0.05 and # p<0.05 for the Ctrl m and Ctrl f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-2.459, p=0.03)
Figure 5
Relative number of miR-15b-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 3 (CA3) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=5), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=9), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=5), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=10). The sex effect shows a trend towards significance (F1,25=4.0915, p=0.0539). $ p<0.05 for the Ctrl f and Pht f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-2.529, p=0.022); # p<0.05 for the Ctrl m and Ctrl f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-2.758, p=0.017)
Figure 6
Relative number of miR-15b-5p-positive neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=5), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=9), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=5), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=10). ## p<0.01 for the Ctrl f and Pht f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-3.143, p=0.008)
Figure 7
Relative number of miR-34a-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 1 (CA1) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=4), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=8), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=4), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=7)
Figure 8
Relative number of miR-34a-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 2 (CA2) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=4), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=8), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=4), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=7)
Figure 9
Relative number of miR-34a-5p-positive neurons in the hippocampal cornus ammonis 3 (CA3) region of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=4), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=8), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=4), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=7). The treatment effect (F1,19=5.009, p=0.037) and the sex × treatment interaction (F1,19=4.39, p=0.049) are significant. ** p<0.001 and # p<0.05 for the Pht m and Pht f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=2.363, p=0.042)
Figure 10
Relative number of miR-34a-5p-positive neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) of control male rats (Ctrl m; n=4), control female rats (Ctrl f; n=8), phthalate-treated male rats (Pht m; n=4), and phthalate-treated female rats (Pht f; n=7). # p<0.05 for the Ctrl f and Pht f comparison (unpaired Student’s t-test: t=-2.476, p=0.028)