Relationship between human chorionic gonadotrophin-induced changes in testicular microcirculation and the formation of testicular interstitial fluid.

Abstract

The relationship between testicular vascular permeability and testicular microcirculation as measured by laser Doppler flowmetry was studied in adult rats. In untreated control animals there was an oscillatory testicular blood-flow pattern with a frequency of 10.6 +/- 0.8 pulses/min and the amount of testicular interstitial fluid (IF) collected was 61.5 +/- 2.2 microliter/g testis. Treatment of the rats with 25-200 i.u. human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) s.c. 8 h before the experiment resulted in a change in the testicular flow pattern from pulsatile to continuous and an increase in IF volume. Treatment with hCG (50 i.u., s.c.) changed the testicular blood-flow pattern from oscillatory to continuous 4, 8 and 16 h after treatment. The flow pattern returned to being pulsatile 32 h after treatment with hCG. The IF information was increased at those times when the blood-flow pattern was continuous. No effects on blood flow or IF formation were observed with 12.5 i.u. hCG s.c. The present study shows a dose- and time-dependent covariation between the increase in testicular IF volume and the disappearance of the pulsatile flow in testicular microcirculation. It appears that a continuous flow pattern favours the transport of fluid from blood vessels to the interstitium.