Stereological, Morphometric and Morphological assessment of Changes Induced by Bilateral Epididymal Lipectomy in Mouse Testicular Histoarchitecture

Introduction: Therapeutic strategies such as chemotherapy can affect gonadal adipose depots. The present study was conducted to assess stereological, morphometric and morphological changes in mouse testicular histoarchitecture structure following bilateral epididymal white adipose tissue lipectomy (BiEWATx)

Methods: In this experimental study, adult male mice were divided into three equal groups (n=6). In the lipectomy group, following induction of anesthesia, both epididymal white adipose tissues (EWATs) were harvested by a posterior abdominal incision, with adequate precautions to prevent any damage to neural and vascular structures of the testis. In the sham group, after induction of anesthesia, an incision was made in the posterior abdomen and after manipulation without removal of the adipose tissue, the incision was stitched. In the control group, animals received 100 mg per kilogram of body weight of intraperitoneal ceftriaxone at the time of opening the abdomen in the other two groups. After 35 days, testis of all animals were harvested and histological assessments were subsequently performed.

Results: Bilateral epididymal white adipose tissue lipectomy (BiEWATx) led to a significant reduction in diameter, the height of the germinal epithelium, cross-sectional area and numerical density of seminiferous tubules, the number of sections of seminiferous tubules per unit area of testis, and severe morphological changes in the testis tissue compared to the control and sham groups.

Conclusion: It appears that BiEWATx can provide the grounds for structural changes in the mice testis.