H Anbara - Department of Comparative His tology & Embryology, Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
MT Sheibani - Department of Comparative His tology & Embryology, Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
M Razi - Department of Comparative His tology & Embryology, Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Background: Aspartame is the mos t famous and mos t widelyused artificial sweetener that is widely used in various foods.There are many controversial reports of aspartame toxicity tovarious tissues. However, not enough data is available about theeffects of aspartame on the reproductive sys tem. The presents tudy was performed to evaluate the effects of aspartame on themale reproductive sys tem.Materials and Methods: In this s tudy, ۳۶ adult male NMRImice were randomly divided into four groups of nine. The threegroups of the above-received aspartame at ۴۰, ۸۰, and ۱۶۰ mg/kg body weight orally by gavage for ۹۰ days, respectively. Thecontrol group also received ۰.۵ ml of physiological serum bygavage. Twenty-four hours after the las t treatment, tissue sampleswere taken and used to express Bcl-۲, BAX, P۵۳, Caspase-۳, and Hsp۷۰-۲ genes and proteins.Results: Aspartame significantly reduced (P<۰.۰۵) the expressionof Bcl-۲ and Hsp۷۰-۲ genes and proteins in addition to asignificant increase (P<۰.۰۵) in the expression of P۵۳, BAX,and Caspase-۳ genes and proteins.Conclusion: Our findings revealed that long-term adminis trationof aspartame at high doses adversely can induce changesin the expression of genes involved in cell death programmingthrough the exertion of oxidative s tress and induces cell degradationor apoptosis.

BAX, Bcl-۲, Caspase-۳, Hsp۷۰-۲, P۵۳