Apoptosis of epididymal epithelium and the content of epididymal carnitine following testicular torsion/detorsion in rats / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship between the apoptosis of epididymal epithelium and the change of epididymal carnitine following testicular torsion/detorsion in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: Group A (2-hr torsion), Group B (5-hr torsion) and a control group (0-hr torsion). The ipsilateral epididymides were collected for detecting the content of carnitine by DTNB technique and the apoptosis of epididymal epithelium by TUNEL technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twenty-four hours after the treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in the apoptosis of epididymal epithelium and the content of epididymal carnitine between the 2-hr torsion/detorsion group and the control (P > 0.05). However, there was statistically significant difference in the apoptosis of epididymal epithelium and the content of epididymal carnitine between the 5-hr group and the control (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Twenty-four hours after 2-hr testicular torsion/detorsion, the carnitine-concentrating function of the epididymis may remain normal and the apoptosis index of epididymal epithelium does not increase significantly, while one day after 5-hr testicular torsion/detorsion, the apoptosis index increases and the carnitine-concentrating function decreases.</p>