The effect of aluminum chloride on testicular biometry, hormonal profiles, spermatozoa quality, and spermatogenic cell morphology in mice

Background: Infertility is defined as failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. The prevalence of couples with infertility increases every year. Treatment success for male infertility remains suboptimal despite the advancements of the therapies. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of spermatogenesis is needed to improve existing infertility treatments. Animal models are commonly used in studies regarding male infertility. Aluminum chloride (AlCl₃) has been established as an infertility-inducing agent. Aim: This study investigates the optimal dosage of AlCl₃ in infertility mice models. Method: Male Balb/c mice, aged 3 months and have proven to be fertile with an average body weight of 26, 96, randomly assigned to four groups. The control group received oral gavage with sterile aquadest, while the treatment groups were administrated AlCl₃ at doses of 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg BW orally over a 53-day period. Assessment of the sperm motility, concentration, morphology, viability, hormone levels, and testicular histopathology were included in this study. Results: Administration of AlCl₃ did not significantly affect body weight, testicular weight, and hormone levels. However, semen analysis showed a reduction in seminal parameters among treatment groups, supported by testicular histopathology. Conclusion: Utilizing AlCl₃ to induce infertility in mice models is not quite effective and displayed variable efficacy across different dosages. Further investigations are needed to elucidate optimal dosage, route of administration, and timing to establish reliable mice infertility models.