Arena Salvatore, Ieni Antonio, Cassaro Fabiola, D'Antoni Santi, Tuccari Giovanni, Impellizzeri Pietro, Romeo Carmelo
Unit of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Human Pathology of Adult and Childhood "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina, 98121, Messina, Italy.
Unit of Human Pathology, Department of Human Pathology of Adult and Childhood "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina, 98121, Messina, Italy.
Pediatr Surg Int. 2024 Dec 18;41(1):31. doi: 10.1007/s00383-024-05913-8.
Autophagy, a catabolic process enabling cellular organelles and proteins' reuse for energy, has been observed in varicocele models, but the effect of surgical treatment on this process remains unknown. This study aims to assess autophagy in varicocele models undergoing surgical correction.
Twenty-one adolescent male rats were induced with varicocele and divided into three groups: sham, varicocele, and varicocele with varicocelectomy. After 21 days, testicles were examined histologically for spermatogenesis (Jonhsen's score) and immunohistochemically for autophagy markers (LC3A, Beclin-1, Ambra-1, ULK-1, p62). Positive germ cells were quantitatively evaluated, and data were statistically analyzed (p < 0.05).
Histological examination revealed significantly reduced Jonhsen's scores in varicocele compared to sham and varicocelectomy groups (p < 0.05). Expression of autophagy markers (LC3A, Beclin-1, Ambra-1, ULK-1, p62) was significantly higher in varicocele than sham and varicocelectomy groups (p < 0.05), and in varicocelectomy than sham (p < 0.05).
Varicocele activates autophagy markers, with p62 potentially modulating autophagy despite being considered an inhibitor. While varicocelectomy improves histology, it doesn't fully inhibit autophagy, suggesting ongoing germ cell dysfunction despite treatment. This underscores varicocele's detrimental effects on germ cell functionality.
自噬是一种分解代谢过程，可使细胞器和蛋白质得以再利用以获取能量，在精索静脉曲张模型中已观察到自噬现象，但手术治疗对这一过程的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在评估接受手术矫正的精索静脉曲张模型中的自噬情况。
21只青春期雄性大鼠被诱导形成精索静脉曲张，并分为三组：假手术组、精索静脉曲张组和精索静脉曲张伴精索静脉结扎术组。21天后，对睾丸进行组织学检查以评估精子发生情况（约翰森评分），并通过免疫组织化学方法检测自噬标志物（LC3A、Beclin-1、Ambra-1、ULK-1、p62）。对阳性生殖细胞进行定量评估，并对数据进行统计学分析（p < 0.05）。
组织学检查显示，与假手术组和精索静脉结扎术组相比，精索静脉曲张组的约翰森评分显著降低（p < 0.05）。精索静脉曲张组中自噬标志物（LC3A、Beclin-1、Ambra-1、ULK-1、p62）的表达明显高于假手术组和精索静脉结扎术组（p < 0.05），且精索静脉结扎术组高于假手术组（p < 0.05）。
精索静脉曲张激活自噬标志物，尽管p62被认为是一种抑制剂，但它可能对自噬具有调节作用。虽然精索静脉结扎术改善了组织学情况，但并未完全抑制自噬，这表明尽管进行了治疗，生殖细胞功能仍持续存在障碍。这突出了精索静脉曲张对生殖细胞功能的有害影响。
