Testis and epididymis of the Indian wall lizard (Hemidactylus flaviviridis): effects of flutamide on FSH and testosterone influenced spermatogenesis, Leydig cell, and epididymis

To determine the separate spermatogenic actions of FSH and testosterone, adult male lizards Hemidactylus flaviviridis with recrudescent testes were administered the non-steroidal antiandrogen flutamide either alone or in combination with FSH or testosterone, and the histology and histochemistry of the testes and ductus epididymides were studied. Flutamide-treated animals displayed a marked hypertrophy of Leydig cells. A few spermatids were also seen in testis of more than half the animals treated with flutamide. Flutamide also produced a significant increase of primary spermatocytes; no spermatids were observed in controls. A significant inhibition of spermatogenesis was noted in lizards treated either with testosterone alone or in combination with flutamide. Ovine FSH treatment caused a significant stimulation of spermatogenesis, as indicated by the increase of primary and secondary spermatocytes and the transformation of secondary spermatocytes into spermatids or, in a few cases, into spermatozoa. A considerable depletion of sudanophilic lipid and moderate delta 5-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was noted in the Leydig cells of FSH-treated animals indicating enhanced steroidogenesis. Similar results were obtained when lizards were treated with flutamide + FSH. The effects of simultaneous treatment of flutamide with FSH or testosterone on ductus epididymidis revealed that flutamide markedly inhibited the epithelial cell height and lumen diameter with a loss of luminal content when compared to FSH or testosterone-treated lizards.