The nitrous oxide synthase expression and spermatogenesis defect in varicocele testis of rats

Objective To investigate the relationship of nitrous oxide synthase (NOS) and the spermatogenesis defect in varicocele testis of rats. Methods Twenty rats were operated as the varicocele group and other 10 were sham-operated, as the control group, testes were removed, stained and examined pathologically. Makler Score was adopted to analyze the mean score in 200 and 100 seminiferous tubulae respectively. NOS was determined by immunohistochemistry, the differences between two groups were compared. Results In varicocele group, the mean score of seminiferous tubule was lower than that of control group (8.5±0.6 vs 16.0±1.2,P0.001). NOS expression was higher in varicocele group than that in controls (3.74±0.37vs2.10±0.12,P0.001).The two parameters were negatively correlated (r=-0.92, P0.01). Conclusions NOS overexpression in varicocele testis could lead to the damage of spermatogenesis and spermatic immaturity.