Testicular vascular permeability: effects of experimental lesions associated with impaired testis function.

Abstract

Pathologies like varicocele and testicular torsion are known to alter testicular blood flow, either acutely or chronically. The present study was undertaken to determine whether or not alterations in testicular vascular permeability accompany these changes in testicular blood flow. Testicular vascular permeability was examined by determining the appearance of radiolabelled molecules (m.w. = 18 to 70,000) in testicular interstitial fluid after acute infusion into the proximal testicular artery of the rat. These vascular permeability studies were carried out in control animals, in those with 30 day experimental left varicocele (ELV), or in those having experienced a 1 hour, 720 degrees experimental torsion either 1 hour or 24 hours prior to the study. Experimental left varicocele did not alter vascular permeability to the molecules studied, but 1 hour torsion did cause a significant increase in vascular permeability within 24 hours after repair of the torsion. Alteration in vascular permeability is one of the family of events contributing to cell death after repair of experimental testicular torsion, but is not a factor in the pathobiology of experimental varicocele.