Electron microscopic changes of the testis germinal epithelium after an experimental thermal trauma in the application of cryo-lyophilized xenograft skin substrate

Abstract

Deep, large area of thermal trauma of the skin leads to significant morphofunctional changes in organs in the composition of the burned organism. However, condition of the central organ of the male reproductive system - testicle after burns and, especially, in the treatment of thermally damaged areas of the skin remain poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to establish an ultrastructural re-organization of testis germinal epithelium cells in the stages of toxemia and septicotoxemia following an experimental thermal trauma when using xenograft skin substrate. The studies were carried out on 35 sexually mature white male rats, which were divided into three groups: 1 - intact animals (5 rats), 2 - animals with burn injury (15 rats), 3 - animals with burn injury, for which were used xenograft skin substrate (15 rats). The burn was applied under ketamine anesthesia with copper plates, heated in boiling water, on 1820% shaved body surface of animals. Early necrectomy of the damaged areas of skin was carried out 1 day after the thermal burn. The formed wounds were covered with cryo-lyophilized xenograft skin substrate. Experimental animals were decapitated at 7, 14 and 21 days of the experiment (early, late toxemia and septicotoxemia). The material sampling for electron microscopy was carried out in accordance with a generally accepted methodology. It is established that in the stage of early toxemia (7 days of experiment) there are adaptive-compensatory changes and signs of destruction of spermatogenic cells of testis. In the stages of late toxemia and septicotoxemia (14 and 21 days of the trial), significant destructive changes occur in all components of the seminiferous tubules of the organ. Electron microscopically found that the closure of the burn wound after the early necrectomy of cryo-lyophilized xenograft skin substrate in severe experimental burn injury in the early stages of the experiment significantly reduces the damage of testis germinal epithelium of experimental animals and activates regenerative processes. This contributes to a significant improvement in the ultrastructure of the components of the convoluted tubules of the organ in the late stages of the experiment.