In the present study, an accentuated immunoreactivity for ERβ was observed in the damaged tubules by cimetidine. Spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes and spermatids in different steps of spermiogenesis exhibited strong cytoplasmic immunolabeling. In some germ cells, mainly spermatids, a conspicuous nuclear immunoexpression for ERβ was also observed. Cimetidine has demonstrated to cause severe alterations in the seminiferous tubules [
31,
33‐
36], including significant decrease in the diameter of tubules at androgen-dependent stages, detachment of spermatids from Sertoli cells [
33] and germ cell loss by apoptosis [
35]. Thus, a possible interference of cimetidine in the tubular androgenization has been suggested [
33,
34]. However, cimetidine has also demonstrated to exert a toxic direct effect on the peritubular tissue [
31,
35]. In a recent study, it has been demonstrated that Sertoli cell-basement membrane interface is structurally affected by cimetidine, leading to Sertoli cells death by apoptosis and significant reduction in the number of these cells [
36]. It is known that Sertoli and germ cells are able to convert testosterone into estrogens via aromatase enzyme [
1,
3,
4,
8]. Thus, additionally to the antiandrogenic effect of cimetidine and the possible interference on tubular androgenization, the convertion of testosterone to estrogen by aromatase in the damaged tubules by cimetidine may be probably affected, due to Sertoli cell death. Studies have demonstrated a higher estrogen receptor immunoreactivity in different cerebral regions of animals whose source of estrogen was removed by aromatase inhibitors [
44,
45] or in aromatase knockout (ArKO) mice [
46], indicating that estrogen can down-regulates estrogen receptors. Regarding the seminiferous epithelium, a conspicuous ERβ immunolabeling was also detected in the germ cells of rat ABP transgenic mouse; in this rat model, aromatization to estrogen should also be impaired due to significant disruption in the intratubular androgen homeostasis [
19]. Thus, it is conceivable to suggest that the increased ERβ immunoreactivity in the germ cells of affected tubules by cimetidine can be related to a possible interference of cimetidine on the tubular androgenization and/or to a possible intratubular aromatase or estrogen deficiency, due to Sertoli and germ cells damage. This is reinforced by the fact that cimetidine induces increase in the FSH levels in men [
26] and in rats treated with the same dosage used in the present study [
31]. It has been demonstrated that estrogen also plays a role in the feedback control of FSH concentrations [reviewed by [
4,
47,
48]]. In men, the suppressive effect of testosterone on serum FSH is decreased by addition of aromatase inhibitor (testolactone), which in turn inhibits the conversion of testosterone into estrogen [
47]. Thus, the increased FSH levels [
31] associated to the impairment in the Sertoli cells caused by cimetidine [
35,
36] support the idea that the ER-beta overexpression in the germ cells of damaged tubules by cimetidine can be related to a possible intratubular estrogen deficiency. However, further studies are necessary to confirm this possibility.
Studies have demonstrated a relationship between germ cell loss by apoptosis and deficiency of estrogen [
8] or aromatase [
22]. In a previous study, a massive germ cell loss by apoptosis has been demonstrated by TUNEL method in cimetidine-treated rats [
35]. The results of the present study also revealed a parallelism between TUNEL-labeling and enhanced ERβ immunoreactivity in the same germ cell types. Thus, while spermatocytes cytoplasm and cytoplasm and nuclei of round and elongate spermatids showed enhanced ERβ immunoreactivity, these same cell types were also positive for the TUNEL method, as previously demonstrated [
35] and observed in the present study. Moreover, germ cells strongly ERβ-immunostained were within vacuoles next to Sertoli cells, suggesting phagocytosis, a common event observed during apoptosis [
35]. In a recent study made in our laboratory, a similar parallelism between cytoplasmic ERβ overexpression and apoptosis has also been demonstrated in alveolar bone osteoclasts [
49]. According to Nilsen et al. [
50], ERβ acts as a mediator of apoptosis in cultured neurons. In patients with Alzheimer disease, an increased ERβ immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of degenerative neuronal cells of hippocampus [
51]. Regarding the germ cells, a correlation between ERβ overexpression and apoptosis was also observed either in rat spermatocytes induced to apoptosis by short-term administration of methoxyacetic acid [
20] or in rat ABP transgenic mouse [
19]. In these studies, the authors suggest that these receptors play a role in the apoptotic process. Thus, the present findings corroborate to the idea that estrogen receptors (ER-beta) are related to the induction of apoptosis in the germ cells.