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Flow cytometry of postmortem human testicular tissue in cases of atherosclerosis
Insights
Atherosclerosis in testicular arteries may not always impact sperm production. Moderate atherosclerosis can significantly reduce spermatogenesis, potentially due to other co-existing diseases.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Pathology
- Reproductive Medicine
Background:
- Atherosclerosis is a systemic vascular disease.
- Its impact on testicular function and spermatogenesis is not fully understood.
- Assessing local blood supply changes is crucial for reproductive health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between atherosclerosis in testicular arteries and spermatogenesis.
- To compare DNA content and histological findings of testes with vascular pathology.
- To evaluate the influence of local blood supply on sperm production.
Main Methods:
- Utilized flow cytometry (FCM) for DNA analysis of testicular tissue.
- Conducted histological examination of testes and their supplying arteries (arteriae testiculares and arteriae ductus deferentis).
- Compared findings between 47 autopsy cases of atherosclerosis and four control cases.
Main Results:
- Most cases showed no significant difference in meiotic DNA histograms between testes, despite arterial diameter variations.
- Some cases with distinct histogram differences had minimal vascular pathology.
- Extensive atherosclerosis did not always correlate with reduced spermatogenesis, but moderate forms sometimes did.
Conclusions:
- Atherosclerosis severity does not consistently predict spermatogenesis reduction.
- Moderate testicular artery atherosclerosis can severely impair sperm production.
- Other concurrent diseases likely influence the observed discrepancies between vascular changes and spermatogenesis.
Abstract:
From forty-seven autopsy cases of atherosclerosis flow cytometry (FCM) of DNA and histology of both testes are compared with the histological sections of their supplying vessels arteriae testiculares and arteriae ductus deferentis at different levels. By this method, changes of spermatogenesis are judged separately for each side and the results can be related to the local conditions of blood supply. Four young men, dead after traffic accidents, served as control. In the majority of cases, the computer-assisted evaluations of the meiotic DNA histograms show no differences between the right and left testis, even when differences of the arterial diameters are found by histology. On the other hand, cases with distinct differences in the histograms can show insignificant pathological alterations of the vessels. Though most excessive forms of macroscopic and microscopic atherosclerosis do not necessarily lead to a significant reduction in spermatogenesis, some cases with moderate forms show a strong reduction or even a total loss. This discrepancy can best be explained by superposition of other diseases.