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Factors that influence fertility after vasovasostomy in rats
C J Flickinger1, S S Howards, J C Herr
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
Objective:
To determine if fertility after vasovasostomy of immunologically responsive Lewis rats differs from that of the less responsive Sprague-Dawley strain and to relate fertility to antisperm antibodies, fluid flow in the vas deferens, and testicular structure.
Design:
Male rats received: (1) bilateral vasectomies; (2) vasectomies followed 3 months later by vasovasostomy; or (3) sham operations.
Setting:
Research laboratory.
Main Outcome Measures:
Fertility was assessed by caging males with three females for 2 weeks and subsequently counting implantation sites. Antisperm antibodies were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, fluid flow through vas deferens segments was tested in vitro, and testicular structure was studied microscopically.
Results:
Nearly all vasovasostomized Lewis rats were infertile (33 of 34), whereas 62% (18 of 29) Sprague-Dawley rats were fertile after vasovasostomy (P less than 0.001). In fertile Sprague-Dawley males, significant correlations existed between: (1) implantation sites or females impregnated; and (2) antisperm antibodies early after vasectomy, vas flow, and testicular morphology.
Conclusions:
Genetic differences affect fertility after vasovasostomy. Fertility after vasovasostomy is also influenced in a multifactorial manner by the immune response, mechanical elements, and structural changes in the reproductive tract.