Journal of Andrology Testis Workshop 2009
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Published-Ahead-of-Print December 17, 2009
Journal of Andrology 2009, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.108.007153

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Hypoxia-Induced Apoptosis in the Bilateral Testes of Rats with Left-Sided Varicocele: A New Way to Think about Varicocele

Haifeng Wang *, Yinghao Sung , Linhui Wang , Chuan Liang Xu , Yang Qing , Bing Liu , and Zhiyong Liu

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: whfcmm91{at}gmail.com.

Although varicocele has been studied for many years, its pathophysiology remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the expression of the alpha subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1{alpha}) and determined the apoptosis index (AI) in the testes of rats with varicoceles to study the mechanism by which varicoceles induce infertility. A total of 45 Wistar rats were divided into three groups: the control group, the sham surgery group, and the experimental group. Forty-nine days after the day of the initial partial ligation of left renal vein, all of the rats underwent orchiectomy. HIF-1{alpha} expression in each testis was analyzed using immunohistochemical methods and ELISA. The degree of apoptosis within each testicle was determined using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). HIF-1{alpha} immunoreactivity in the testes of the experimental group was significantly higher than that in those of the control group (P<0.05) or the sham group (P<0.05). The AI of the germ cells of rats in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in of germ cells of rats in the sham group (P<0.001) or the control group (P<0.001). Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation observed between the AI of germ cells and relative intensity of HIF-1{alpha} in the left testis (r=0.631, P=0.028) and right testis (r=0.707, P=0.01) of rats in the experimental group. The results of this study showed that a left-sided varicocele could cause bilateral testicular hypoxia and increased germ cell apoptosis, both of which play an important role in testicular dysfunction. Furthermore, HIF-1{alpha} is a useful factor that can be used to predict the degree of germ cell apoptosis in rat testes.


Key words: Fertility • Spermatogenesis • Testis • Varicocele • Hypoxia induced factor






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