TESTICULAR CIRCULATORY ISOLATION - NOT A CAUSE OF IMMUNE-MEDIATED TESTIS INJURY IN THE RAT

Background: Testicular circulatory isolation (TCI), a regional drug ex clusion approach designed to prevent chemotherapy-induced male inferti lity, can reduce testicular drug exposure and preserve fertility. The immunological sequelae of this surgical procedure were investigated. M ethods: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats received unilateral TCI for 45 min a nd were killed at intervals of up to 43 days later. Testicular histolo gy was evaluated qualitatively using hematoxylin and eosin stain, a di rect immunofluorescent technique for detection of antigen-antibody com plexes, and an indirect immunofluorescent technique to detect circulat ing antitestis antibodies. Results: No immune-mediated injury was evid ent up to 43 days after TCI. Conclusion: The current work, taken toget her with previously published data, indicate that TCI produces no immu nological damage in the rat testis. Because TCI is well tolerated in h umans, this work also supports the institution of human clinical trial s of this technique in men about to receive fertility-threatening chem otherapy.