MELATONIN TREATMENT PREVENTS THE PROGRESSION OF EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ORCHITIS IN RATS

CINTHIA SOLEDAD MENDEZ; LUCAS NICOLAS GONZÁLEZ; GISELA SOLEDAD GUALDONI; MERCEDES IMSEN; MARÍA SOFÍA AMARILLA; CRISTIAN SOBARZO; LIVIA LUSTIG; PATRICIA VERÓNICA JACOBO; MARÍA SUSANA THEAS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LVII Reunión Anual de la SAIC; 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones clínicas

Testicular inflammation is frequently associated to infertility. We developed an experimental model of autoimmune orchitis (EAO) in rats. In EAO interstitial lymphomonocytes increased from focal (50- 60days, d) to severe EAO (70-80d), concomitantly with apoptosis of post-meiotic germ cells (GC) and pre-meiotic GC cycle arrest, leading to aspermatogenesis. Melatonin (MLT) is a hormone with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether MLT prevents the progression of testicular damage and inflammation of rats with focal EAO. Adult Wistar rats were immunized with testicular homogenate and adjuvants or not treated (Normal group, N). 60d after the first immunization, EAO rats were semicastrated and treated daily with MLT (10mg/ kg i.p, MLT group) or vehicle (1% methanol in saline, S Group) for 20d. Testicular histopathological analysis was performed to determine the inflammation and orchitis score (EAO=V+T, where V is a factor from 0 to 9 depending on the % of sloughed seminiferous tubules (ST) and T a factor that considers the severity of ST damage). The incidence of orchitis at 60d in the S group was 100% (7/7) and in the MLT group 89% (8/9). N group did not develop orchitis (EAO score:0.0). EAO and inflammation score was only determined in rats that developed EAO at 60d. EAO score significantly increased the 100% (7/7) of the S group rats (mean±ESM 60d:3.071±0.820, 80d: 5.786±1.367, p