The male reproductive toxicity after 5-Fluorouracil exposure: DNA damage, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction in vitro and in vivo.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat a variety of cancers, can enter the environment through different routes, causing serious public health and environmental concerns. It has been reported that 5-FU exposure adversely affects male reproductive function, and its effects on this system cannot be avoided. In this study, using western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction studies, we found that 5-FU promoted testicular injury by inducing oxidative stress, which was accompanied by the inhibition of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/antioxidant response element signaling. Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) aggravated 5-FU-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in murine cell lines and testes, indicating oxidative stress and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic signaling play crucial roles in the damage of spermatogenic cells caused. N-Acetyl-L-cysteine, an antioxidant that scavenges intracellular ROS, protected spermatogenic cells from 5-FU-induced oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, revealing the important role of ROS in testicular dysfunction caused by 5-FU. We found that 5-FU exposure induces testicular cell apoptosis through ROS-mediated mitochondria pathway in mice. In summary, our findings revealed the reproductive toxicological effect of 5-FU on mice and its mechanism, provided basic data reference for adverse ecological and human health outcomes associated with 5-FU contamination or poisoning.

Balloon-like optical fiber sensor for simultaneous displacement and temperature measurement based on an anti-resonance mechanism.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a balloon-like optical fiber sensor with an anti-resonance mechanism for the simultaneous measurement of displacement and temperature. The sensor consists of a hollow-core fiber spliced between two single-mode fibers and bent into a balloon-like shape. The balloon-like structure not only increases the contrast of the spectral lines but also improves the displacement sensitivity. Theoretical and experimental results show that the incidence angle of light varies with the change in displacement, resulting in the variation of spectral intensity based on the anti-resonance mechanism. In addition, the temperature change causes the wavelength drift of the spectrum. Thus, by separately demodulating the intensity and wavelength of this sensor, it is possible to measure displacement and temperature simultaneously. The sensitivity of the displacement and temperature of the sensor is 0.043 dB/µm and 20.94 pm/°C, respectively. The proposed optical fiber sensor has a compact structure and simple preparation, making it an ideal choice for simultaneous measurement of displacement and temperature in the fields of micro-manufacturing and structural monitoring in the future.