ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HISTOLOGIC ALTERATIONS AND THE GENERATION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES IN VASECTOMIZED RAT TESTES

Objectives. To evaluate the effects of vasal obstruction on testicular structure, to determine if tissue and/or cell damage can cause signif icant reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and to correlate the h istologic alterations to the measured levels of ROS products. Methods. To evaluate the effects of ROS generation in vasectomized testes, uni lateral vasectomy was performed on 17 rats and tissue samples were exa mined by light microscopy. The histologic alterations were correlated to the measured tissue malondialdehyde levels by thiobarbituric acid a nalysis as an indicator of the ROS-induced tissue damage. Results, Uni lateral vasectomy significantly affected the weights of the ipsilatera l testes, but not the contralateral testes. No significant changes wer e noted in plasma estradiol, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone levels. The mean values of malondialdehyde were found to be significantly higher in vasectomized rats than in con trol rats (0.025 +/- 0.008 versus 0.018 +/- 0.007 nmol/mg protein) (P <0.01). The malondialdehyde level was a mean of 28% lower in the contr alateral testes tissue as compared to that found in ipsilateral testes (P <0.01). Malondialdehyde output from vasectomized rats had a parall el correlation to tissue destruction. Conclusions. Our results indicat e that overproduction of ROS may be involved in vasectomy-induced test icular damage. (C) 1998, Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.