Pathological and Immunological Effects of Surgically Induced Varicocele in Juvenile and Adult Rats

Abstract

The presence of a varicocele in adult men has been correlated with infertility. This study documents the effect of an experimentally induced unilateral varicocele in 21-day-old juvenile prepubertal and 51-day-old adult rats (n = 10 per group) on subsequent adult testicular function. Varicoceles were induced by partial occlusion of the spermatic vein. There were ten sham-operated and five nonoperated control rats in each age group. The rats were sacrificed 1 month after surgery. Intrascrotal temperatures were elevated in both groups with varicoceles. Histologically, the ipsilateral testes of rats in both age groups demonstrated a decrease in the numbers of functioning seminiferous tubules and germ cells, but the decrease was significantly greater in the juveniles than in the adult rats. No changes were seen in the contralateral testes. Significant titers of cytotoxic sperm antibodies were present in all animals with varicoceles, which is in contrast to controls. The juveniles had significantly lower antibody titers (mean log2 +/- SEM; 3.2 +/- 0.09 vs. 8.5 +/- 1.1, P less than 0.001) than the adults. The induction of a unilateral varicocele damaged spermatogenesis and testicular function to a greater extent in juveniles than in adult rats. This damage may be immune complex-mediated.

Surgical Repair versus Medical Treatment of Varicocele in the Rat: Pharmacological Manipulation of the Varicocelized Testicle

“…The significant de crease in the left testicular weight in the rats in groups C and D is inconsistent with the results of similar studies by some other investigators [6,9]. However, it is compatible with the findings of Shook et al [10] who noted marked atrophy of the left testicle 1 month after the creation of a left varicocele in rats. These differences may be attribut able to the different experimental observation periods or to the different species of rats used.…”

Varicocele-Induced Testicular Dysfunction May Be Associated with Disruption of Blood-Testis Barrier

“…Infertile men with varicoceles have a similar percentage of antisperm antibodies as infertile men without varicoceles [8]. In experimentally induced varicocele in rats, there is a higher antisperm antibody level than in sham and non-operated rats [24]. Unfortunately, it has been demonstrated in earlier studies that the status of blood-testis barrier in varicocele pathophysiology is unclear [2,3,23,27].…”

Current management of the adolescent varicocele

“…Although some investigators have found that antisperm antibodies are increased in both animal models [44,45] and human patients, fundamentally, the blood-testis barrier remains intact in patients with varicoceles [46]. Therefore, the role of autoimmunity in the pathophysiology of varicoceles remains to be proven.…”