Effect of prostaglandins, nitrofurantoin, and Escherichia coli on response of human vas deferens to norepinephrine.

Surgical specimens of human vas deferens, mounted isometrically in vitro, were tested for their reactivity to norepinephrine, the major neurohumoral control mechanism in this tissue, under a variety of conditions. There was no significant difference in reactivity (measured as amplitude and frequency of contraction) between vasa obtained under either spinal or local anesthesia. Similarly, the age of the donor (range, 20 to 79 years) had no effect on either measure of reactivity. Prostaglandins A1 (10(-7) gm/ml) and E2 (10(-9) gm/ml), Escherichia coli (10(5) organisms/ml), and E. coli endotoxin (10(-7) gm/ml) did not affect norepinephrine responses, suggesting that the role of these compounds in problems of fertility is not related to an alternation in sperm transport through the vas. Nitrofurantoin (10(-5) gm/ml) also had no effect on reactivity to norepinephrine, providing further evidence that low sperm counts in patients taking this drug are more appropriately attributed to a direct effect on spermatogenesis than to an effect on sperm transport.