Nitric oxide synthase patterns in normal and varicocele testis in adolescents

Santoro, Giuseppe; Romeo, Carmelo; Impellizzeri, Pietro; Ientile, Riccardo; Cutroneo, Giuseppina; Trimarchi, Fabio; Pedale, Santa; Turiaco, Nunzio; Gentile, C

doi:10.1046/j.1464-4096.2001.02446.x

Cited by 64 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…There is often a rapid increase in testis volume during adolescence after varicocoele correction. This is partially caused by an increase in seminiferous tubule diameter and an increase in germ cell number (Santoro & Romeo, 2001). Thus, testicular growth failure secondary to varicocoele is associated with a decrease in sperm count (Kass et al, 1989).…”

Section: Is Testicular Hypotrophy Predictive Of Testicular Injury?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent varicocoele management controversies

2012

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SUMMARYVaricocoele is defined as excessive dilatation of the pampiniform venous plexus of the spermatic cord. Varicocoele frequently appears during early puberty and is recognized to be the most common surgically correctable cause of male infertility. However, the actual incidence in adolescents, pathophysiology and the association with male factor infertility all remain somewhat controversial. The most accurate diagnostic technique for identifying young men who will benefit from surgical treatment has yet to be established. Observations of testicular asymmetry and deteriorating semen quality helped establish current guidelines and recommendations for surgical treatment. Further studies, comparing observation with surgical intervention, are needed to refine the current indications for varicocoele repair in the adolescent male.

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Section: Is Testicular Hypotrophy Predictive Of Testicular Injury?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent varicocoele management controversies

2012

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“…The increased temperature in the testis may play a role in the oxidative stress evidenced in the testes (Santoro and Romeo, 2001) and semen (Hendin et al, 1999;Smith et al, 2006) of varicocele patients, as well as chryptorchid patients (Ahotupa and Huhtaniemi, 1992;Peltola et al, 1995;Misro et al, 2005).…”

Section: Sperm Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of hypoxia on epididymal sperm parameters and protective role of ibuprofen and melatonin

2011

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Hypobaric hypoxia is of interest due to an increase of human populations working at high altitude. Testicular damage is related to the physiological response (neoangiogenesis) to increased intrascrotal blood fl ow as temperature rises. Hypoxia is a stress factor with overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The effect of hypoxia in mice reproductive parameters is analyzed. Animals were exposed to simulated hypoxia of 4,200 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) in a chamber for 33.2 days, both to continuous (HH) or intermittent hypoxia (HI) with an intermittency period of 4 days hypoxia /4 days normoxia (500 m.a.s.l.). The anti-infl ammatory drug Ibuprofen was administered to a group of mice to control vasodilation and increased blood fl ow. Melatonin was administered to another group of mice as a potent ROS scavenger. Animals in both HH and HI exposure were compared to normoxic nontreated controls. There was a hematological response in hypoxia, with an increase in hematocrit and reticulocytosis. There was also increased teratozoospermia. This damage was more pronounced in HH than HI, suggesting that alternating normoxic periods permits compensation for the effects of hypoxia. In both hypoxia systems, the level of lipoperoxidation and the instability of DNA increased. In HH, there was a reduction of teratozoospermia in melatonin-treated mice. Ibuprofen presented a protective effect on the same parameters as melatonin with both HI and HH. The quality of sperm DNA, fragmentation, unpacking and DNA stability diminished. In conclusion, reproductive damage elicited by HH or HI was partially ameliorated by simultaneous treatment with antifl ogistic and/or antioxidant agents.

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“…They were not able to resolve the origin of the increased NO levels in varicocele and concluded that the dilated spermatic vein was not the main source for increased NO. Furthermore, Santoro et al [2001] detected iNOS overexpression in Leydig cells of patients with varicocele suggesting that upregulation of iNOS resulted in NO overproduction and consequently pathogenesis of both testes and sperm dysfunction in varicocele. In the study by Shiraishi and Naito [2007], significant increases in the concentration of NO and the expression of inducible NOS were detected in testes with grade 2-3 varicocele, however there was no difference in expression of eNOS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Normozoospermic men were shown to have significantly lower NO concentrations than asthenozoospermic infertile men [Balercia et al 2004]. Santoro et al [2001] reported that increased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in Leydig cells might deteriorate spermatogenesis and cause sperm dysfunction in varicocele. As NO has been shown to play a possible role in the process of varicocele and consequently infertility, the evaluation of NOS activity (i.e., the production of NO) is crucial to understanding this cascade and resultant functional aspects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression of NOS isoforms in internal spermatic veins of infertile men with varicocele

Erkan¹,

Toktaş²,

Ünlüer³

et al. 2012

Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine

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Although varicocele is a relatively common entity encountered in the evaluation of infertile men, the exact pathophysiology still remains unclear. Recently, as previously widely investigated in various parts of human circulatory system, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and its product, nitric oxide (NO) have been thought to play a role in the development of varicocele and thus male infertility. In this study, we determined the concentration of NO metabolite and the expression of NOS isoforms in the internal spermatic (ISV) and superficial branch of inferior epigastric veins of infertile men with varicocele. The study included 60 infertile men with clinically unilateral or bilateral varicocele. Expression of inducible and endothelial NOS (iNOS and eNOS) isoforms were investigated in tissue arrays of internal spermatic and superficial branch of inferior epigastric veins with immunohistochemistry. NO metabolite (nitrite) levels were measured using the calorimetric method. A significantly higher expression of eNOS was observed in the varicose veins (mean score: 2.25 and 1.55, respectively; p = 0.0001). However, statistically, there was no significant difference for expression of iNOS between varicose and control veins (p = 0.094). The nitrite concentration and NOS expression were not found to be correlated with clinical variables (varicocele grade, maximum varicose vein diameter, and sperm concentration, motility, and morphology) (p > 0.05). As a result, the significantly higher expression of eNOS in ISV may be responsible for the development of varicocele, although this finding is not accompanied by an increase in NO concentration. Still, the pattern of the relationship between varicocele and increased eNOS expression warrants further investigation.

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Nitric oxide synthase patterns in normal and varicocele testis in adolescents

Cited by 64 publications

References 30 publications

Adolescent varicocoele management controversies

Adolescent varicocoele management controversies

Effects of hypoxia on epididymal sperm parameters and protective role of ibuprofen and melatonin

Expression of NOS isoforms in internal spermatic veins of infertile men with varicocele

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