Protection from radiation-induced damage of spermatogenesis in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) by follicle-stimulating hormone.

In adult rhesus monkeys a two- to threefold increase in the number of spermatogonia was found at Day 75 after 1 Gy of X-irradiation when the animals were pretreated with two intramuscular injections of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) each day. Also the percentage of cross-sections of seminiferous tubules showing spermatogonia (repopulation index) was much higher when FSH was given before irradiation. At 75 days postirradiation the repopulation index was 39 +/- 10% after irradiation alone and 81 +/- 11% when FSH pretreatment was applied. The pretreatment with two injections of FSH each day during 16 days caused an increase in the number of proliferating A spermatogonia. In view of earlier results in the mouse, where proliferating spermatogonial stem cells appeared more radioresistant than quiescent ones, it is suggested that the protective effects of FSH treatment are caused by the increase in the proliferative activity of the A spermatogonia and consequently of the spermatogonial stem cells. The results indicate that in the rhesus monkey the maximal protective effect of FSH is reached after a period of treatment between 7 and 16 days.