Ethanol decreases the expression of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide in rat testes

The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of ethanol on pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) expression in adult rat testes. Ethanol (3 g/kg i.p., 15% v/v in saline) was administrated to adult male rats for 10 days. Using northern blot analysis, we elucidated the decrease of PACAP mRNA in rat testes by ethanol administration. The level of PACAP mRNA was decreased by 46.5% in testes of the ethanol-treated animals, compared to that of saline-treated animals. In particular, ethanol exposure decreased the expression of PACAP mRNA and protein in developing germ cells, which are sperm cell progenitors. Thus, our findings suggest that the decrease of PACAP in developing germ cells by ethanol administration may contribute to the suppression of male reproductive activity.