A Ahmadzadeh Golsefied - Royan Institute for Biotechnology, Isfahan, Iran
MH Nasr-Esfahani - Royan Institute for Biotechnology, Isfahan, Iran
M Tavalaee - Royan Institute for Biotechnology, Isfahan, Iran

Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Infertility is defined as the inability to achieve a pregnancy after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. 10-15% of couples face infertility, which is related to male factors in almost 50% of cases. The most common causes of male infertility are varicocele. Varicocele refers to the abnormal inflation of spermatic veins in the scrotum sac. Studies have shown that varicocele is associated with an increase in apoptosis and therefore a reduction in the number of sperm.Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to create a varicocele model in animals and to study the apoptosis gene expression and their effect on survival of sperm cells were evaluated.Materials and Methods: In the present study, 30 adult male Wistar rats were divided into three groups, I: varicocele-induced II: sham and III: control. After two months of varicocele induction, rats were sacrificed and epididymis were dissected. Then, sperm Viability assessed by WHO protocol, and eosin-nigrosine test. In addition, Real Time PCR technique was used to determine the expression of the apoptosis gene of the RNA level. Differences within groups were compared by one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) using a post hoc test (Tukey). Collected data were presented as mean±SEM and p<0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: The results of the current study showed that mean Sperm Viability were significantly lower in varicocele induction group compared to control and sham groups (p<0.01), while the level of apoptosis genes mRNA expression to be significantly higher in varicocele induction group compared to control and shame groups (p<0.05).Conclusion: In the varicocele status due to the high testicular temperature, and consequently increase of oxidative stress level, apoptosis pathway genes such as P53, Bak, Bax, Caspase3 were activated and that lead to the cell death. Consequently, in individuals with varicoceles, the rate of apoptosis increases and sperm count have decrease. These conditions reduce the quality of semen and can lead to infertility in men.

Infertility, Varicocele, Apoptosis, Reduces sperm count