Decreased serum testosterone levels in rats exposed intraperitoneally to bismuth subnitrate

The consumption of bismuth is increasing and knowledge of the potential teratogenic and reproductive damage of bismuth exposure is fragmentary. In the present study we used autometallography (AMG)--the histochemical silver amplification technique--to trace bismuth in the testis and pituitary glands of Wistar rats injected intraperitoneally with bismuth subnitrate. Large amounts of bismuth AMG grains were concentrated in the lysosomes of Leydig cells, and serum testosterone levels were reduced when compared with controls. No histochemical traces of bismuth were found in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. Compared with their corresponding controls, neither follicle-stimulating hormone nor luteinizing hormone were affected. The selective uptake of bismuth in Leydig cells, followed by decreased testosterone levels, emphasizes a potential hazard of bismuth-provoked male reproductive impairment.