Fig. 8. Immunohistochemical localization of occludin, ZO-1, N-cadherin and ₂-MG in the seminiferous epithelium of rat testes with and without pretreatment with either SB202190 or vehicle (1% DMSO) (via intratesticular injection) prior to CdCl₂ administration to induce BTB damage. (A-L) Micrographs of seminiferous epithelium of normal rats (A,D,G,J, negative controls), rats pretreated with vehicle (1% DMSO) followed by CdCl₂ (B,E,H,K; positive controls), and rats pretreated with 5 µM SB202190 followed by CdCl₂ (C,F,I,L; test). A-C, D-F, G-I and JL show the immunohistochemical localization of occludin, ZO-1, N-cadherin and ₂-MG, respectively. It is noted that after the pre-treatment of testes with SB202190, the CdCl₂-induced losses of occludin (C compared with B), ZO-1 (F compared with E) and N-cadherin (I compared with H) were blocked. However, the induction of ₂-MG expression by CdCl₂ was not affected (L compared with K). Scale bar in A: 80 µm, applicable to B-L.