MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES AND PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES IN RAT TESTES UNDER CONDITIONS OF PROLONGED CENTRAL DEPRIVATION OF TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS

Male sex hormones in general, and testosterone in particular, play an important role not only during puberty in young men; they are also needed to maintain intercellular interaction in the testes. The question regarding the influence of the central regulation of testosterone synthesis on changes in the testes during prolonged deprivation of the stimulus to testosterone production is still open. The aim of this research was to study changes in the production of nitric oxide and superoxide anion radical, morphological changes in the testes of rats under conditions of prolonged (270 and 365 days) central deprivation of testosterone synthesis. The experiments were carried out on 15 sexually mature white male rats of the Wistar line. The animals were divided into 3 groups of 5 animals in each. The first group (control) received subcutaneous injection of sodium chloride 0.9% for 365 days. In the second and third groups, central deprivation of testosterone synthesis was performed for 270 and 365 days, respectively. Central deprivation of testosterone synthesis was modelled by the administration of dipherelin (triptorelin) in a dose of 0.3 mg / kg subcutaneously. On the 270th day of the experiment, changes were noted in the interstitial tissue, with manifestations of fibrosis. Disturbances in the microvascular bed were manifested by endothelial dysfunction and an increase in the density of the vascular wall, associated with both the qualitative and quantitative composition of altered interstitial cells and microvessels. The 365th day of the experiment, like the previous period of the experiment, was characterized by changes in both parenchymal and interstitial components of the testes. In the interstitial tissue, fibrosis can be noted with a decrease in the quantitative composition of interstitial endocrinocytes. The interstitial spaces between the convoluted tubules are enlarged in comparison with the previous period of the experiment. The production of nitric oxide reduced on 270th and 365th days of the experiment by 68.5% and 42.6%, respectively, and the production of superoxide radical anion was increased in 5 and 5.5 times, respectively. Central deprivation of testosterone synthesis on 270th and 365th days leads to fibrosis and systemic stasis of the interstitial tissue with subsequent disruption of the structural organization of the convoluted seminiferous tubules, violation of hemodynamics, endothelial dysfunction, and an increase in the density of the vascular wall of blood vessels. A decrease in the production of nitric oxide by constitutive isoforms of NO-synthase with central deprivation of testosterone synthesis by 270 and 365 days results in an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species in the testes of rats.