Chang De-Hui, Kong Fei-Yan, Jiang Wei, Li Fu-Dong, Kang Yin-Dong, Zhou Xin, Ding Hao-Shuai, Zhang Bin
Department of Urology, the 940th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Lanzhou, Gansu 730050, China.
Department of Urology, Fengtai Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Beijing 100072, China.
Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2020 Dec;26(12):1068-1073.
To establish a model of reproductive system injury in male rats at high altitude using the low-pressure hypoxic animal laboratory and study the changes in the testicular tissue, semen parameters, blood gas and oxidative stress in male rats at different altitudes.
Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to be raised on the plains (the plains group, n = 20), at an altitude of 4 000 m (the plateau model group Ⅰ, n = 20), or at an altitude of 6 000 m (the plateau model group Ⅱ, n = 20) for a spermatogenic cycle of 14 days. After establishment of the model of high-altitude reproductive system injury, the testis tissues of the rats were harvested for HE staining and observed for histopathological changes under the light microscope, and their epididymedes collected for preparation of sperm suspension and detection of sperm motility, sperm count and the percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm (MAS). The blood gas level and oxidative stress-related indexes in different groups were also measured using the serological test.
With the elevation of altitude, the levels of pH and PO2 were decreased, those of PCO2, Hct, K+, Cl－ and Hb increased markedly, while that of Na+ exhibited no significant change. The model rats also showed folded spermatogenic tubule walls, thinned spermatogenic epithelia, disorderly arranged and reduced number of spermatogenic cells, and increased vascuolization in the spermatogenic epithelia, with decreased sperm motility and count, increased percentage of MAS, elevated concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD).
A model of reproductive system injury was successfully established in male rats at a simulated altitude of 4 000 m. With increasing of the altitude to 6000 m, oxidative damage to the testicular tissue was aggravated, sperm motility decreased, and the percentage of MAS increased, indicating that an altitude of 6 000 m may cause serious damage to the rat reproductive system.
利用低压缺氧动物实验室建立雄性大鼠高原生殖系统损伤模型，研究不同海拔雄性大鼠睾丸组织、精液参数、血气及氧化应激的变化。
将60只雄性Wistar大鼠随机分为平原组（n = 20）、海拔4 000 m高原模型Ⅰ组（n = 20）、海拔6 000 m高原模型Ⅱ组（n = 20），饲养14天的生精周期。建立高原生殖系统损伤模型后，取大鼠睾丸组织进行HE染色，光镜下观察组织病理学变化，取附睾制备精子悬液，检测精子活力、精子计数及形态异常精子百分比（MAS）。采用血清学检测方法检测不同组的血气水平及氧化应激相关指标。
随着海拔升高，pH值和PO2水平降低，PCO2、Hct、K+、Cl－和Hb水平显著升高，而Na+水平无显著变化。模型大鼠还表现为生精小管壁折叠、生精上皮变薄、生精细胞排列紊乱且数量减少、生精上皮空泡化增加，精子活力和计数降低，MAS百分比增加，丙二醛（MDA）浓度升高，超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性降低。
在模拟海拔4 000 m成功建立了雄性大鼠生殖系统损伤模型。随着海拔升高至6 000 m，睾丸组织氧化损伤加重，精子活力降低，MAS百分比增加，表明海拔6 000 m可能对大鼠生殖系统造成严重损伤。
