The Protective Effect of Vasopressin on Sperm Parameters and Histopathology of Testicular and Epididymal Tissue in a Rat Model of Testicular Torsion-Detorsion

TESTICULAR torsion-detorsion (TD) can lead to infertility. In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the protective role of vasopressin (AVP) on histopathological changes in a rat model of testicular TD.We divided 50 rats into the following five groups (n=10 per group): healthy control, TD control, sham, TD + 0.1 mu g/kg AVP, and TD + 0.2 mu g/ kg AVP. After 24 hours, the rats were anesthetized and their testis were removed. The effects of AVP on Morphologic manifestations were evaluated using H&E staining. Furthermore, sperm quality (sperm cell count and vitality) and spermatogenesis (tubule differentiation index (TDI), spermiation index (SPI), and repopulation index (RI)) were assessed. There were significant improvements in histopathological changes (epididymis and seminiferous tubules injury, the interstitial tissue edema). Furthermore, AVP could significantly enhance the parameters of sperm quality such as sperm cell count and vitality. Moreover, a significant increase was observed in TDI, SPI and RI. Our results showed that AVP could attenuate factors involved in the pathogenesis of testicular TD, including histopathological changes, sperm quality and spermatogenesis. Hence, the use of AVP is advisable for the amelioration of damage caused by the testicular TD.