[Pathogenic effects of Trypanosoma congolense on the testis of Baoulé bulls: quantitative and morphometric histology]

The effect of Trypanosoma congolense on testis was studied in 53 trypano-resistant "Baoulé" bulls by quantitative histology and morphometry. The daily spermatozoa production per testis of control groups (n = 45) was 382 +/- 334 x 10(6) (m +/- sd) and the epididymis contained 0.6 +/- 1 x 10(9) spermatozoa in the caput, 0.3 +/- 0.3 x 10(9) in the corpus and 1.2 +/- 1.8 x 10(9) in the cauda. The infected bulls (n = 8) showed no significant difference (P > 0.05) when compared to the control despite their average low value. The morphometric analysis during infection revealed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease (32%) of total Leydig cell volume per testis, 4.4 +/- 0.9 cm3 for the control (n = 5) and 3.0 +/- 0.8 cm3 for infected bulls (n = 8). The number of round spermatids per Sertoli cell and the daily round spermatid production (DRSP) per testis were also significantly reduced in infected bulls when compared to controls (P < 0.05), 5.2 +/- 0.7 and 2.8 +/- 2 for round spermatid per Sertoli cell and 6.1 +/- 2.0 and 3.1 +/- 1.9 x 10(8) for DRSP. These observations indicate that Trypanosoma congolense infection alters the interstitial tissue and meotic divisions of germinal cells leading to low daily round spermatid production per gram of testis in "Baoulé" bulls.