Celik-Ozenci Ciler, Sahin Zeliha, Ustunel Ismail, Akkoyunlu Gokhan, Erdogru Tibet, Korgun Emin Turkay, Baykara Mehmet, Demir Ramazan
Department of Histology and Embryology, Akdeniz University, Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey.
Fertil Steril. 2006 Apr;85 Suppl 1:1168-78. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2005.08.058.
To assess what the distributions of Fas system proteins are in normal rat testicular tissue; to assess whether there is a change in these distributions and in expression levels with experimentally-induced varicocele of 9, 11, and 13 weeks; and to assess whether there is a relationship between apoptosis and the Fas system in varicocele-induced rat testis.
Comparative and controlled study.
University animal care and operation unit.
ANIMAL(S): Wistar male rats for experimental and control groups.
INTERVENTION(S): The control group underwent sham operation (n = 6). Rats in experimental groups underwent partial ligation of the renal vein to induce an experimental varicocele and then were killed at 9 (n = 6), 11 (n = 6), and 13 (n = 6) weeks after induction of varicocele.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Tissues were fixed and processed for paraffin and Araldite embedding, and subsequently immunohistochemistry, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end-labeling, and transmission electron microscopy were performed. In addition, Western blotting was applied.
RESULT(S): In control testis, we detected the expression of FasL in spermatids, interestingly at the progressing stages of acrosome formation and in the heads of the spermatozoa being released to lumen. Varicocele induction revealed a significant down-regulation of this protein, especially 11 weeks after the operation, without altering its distribution. Fas protein was present in cytoplasmic extrusions of the elongated spermatids and evidently in Leydig cells of the interstitial tissue. The expression of Fas protein was diminished after 11 weeks of varicocele induction, both in Leydig cells and in cytoplasmic extrusions. The decrease of Fas was significant in the 13-week-old varicocele group, whereas that of FasL was significant in the 11-week-old varicocele group. Compared with sham-operated animals, a minor increase in the number of apoptotic germ cells in varicocele groups was detected.
CONCLUSION(S): Our results exposed other possible important roles of the Fas system in addition to than apoptosis in male reproduction. We suggest that the role of the Fas system needs further investigation both in animal models and in human male infertility.
评估Fas系统蛋白在正常大鼠睾丸组织中的分布情况；评估在实验性诱导9周、11周和13周精索静脉曲张后，这些分布及表达水平是否发生变化；评估精索静脉曲张诱导的大鼠睾丸中细胞凋亡与Fas系统之间是否存在关联。
对比和对照研究。
大学动物护理与操作单位。
用于实验组和对照组的Wistar雄性大鼠。
对照组接受假手术（n = 6）。实验组大鼠接受肾静脉部分结扎以诱导实验性精索静脉曲张，然后在诱导精索静脉曲张后9周（n = 6）、11周（n = 6）和13周（n = 6）处死。
组织固定后进行石蜡和环氧树脂包埋，随后进行免疫组织化学、末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶介导的脱氧尿苷三磷酸缺口末端标记及透射电子显微镜检查。此外，应用蛋白质印迹法。
在对照睾丸中，我们在精子细胞中检测到FasL的表达，有趣的是在顶体形成的进展阶段以及释放到管腔中的精子头部。诱导精索静脉曲张显示该蛋白显著下调，尤其是在手术后11周，但其分布未改变。Fas蛋白存在于延长型精子细胞的细胞质突起中，且明显存在于间质组织的睾丸间质细胞中。精索静脉曲张诱导11周后，Fas蛋白在睾丸间质细胞和细胞质突起中的表达均降低。Fas的降低在13周龄精索静脉曲张组中显著，而FasL的降低在11周龄精索静脉曲张组中显著。与假手术动物相比，精索静脉曲张组中凋亡生殖细胞数量略有增加。
我们的结果揭示了Fas系统在男性生殖中除细胞凋亡外的其他可能重要作用。我们建议在动物模型和人类男性不育中进一步研究Fas系统的作用。
