Study of varicocele and oxidative stress / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mischief mechanism of oxidative stress in the varicocele (VC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serum was taken from the spermatic and peripheral veins on ligation of the internal spermatic veins in 28 infertile males with VC. Experimental VC was established in male rats by partial ligation of the left renal vein. And testis tissue was taken three months after operation. The nitric oxide(NO), nitric oxide synthetase (NOS), xanthine oxidase (XO), lactic acid(Lac) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in the serum of 28 infertile males with VC and the testis tissue of the VC rats were detected by spectrophotometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NO, NOS, XO and Lac in the serum of internal spermatic veins in the infertile males with VC were significantly higher than in the serum of peripheral veins in the VC patients (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). LDH was lower than that in peripheral serum. NO and XO of the left testis tissue in the VC rats were higher compared with the control group (P < 0.01). Lac in the left testis of the VC rats was lower than that in the control group rats (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>NO, NOS and XO in the serum of the VC patients and in the testis tissues of the VC rats were increased, and Lac and LDH were changed obviously, which might not only disturb spermatogenesis, but also inhibit sperm motility. Therefore they might be one of the causes of infertility in VC patients.</p>