Exertional heat stroke on fertility, erectile function, and testicular morphology in male rats

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 3539 - 14
• Main Authors: Lin, Pei-Hsuan, Huang, Kuan-Hua, Tian, Yu-Feng, Lin, Cheng-Hsien, Chao, Chien-Ming, Tang, Ling-Yu, Hsieh, Kun-Lin, Chang, Ching-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.02.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/443/494; 692/4025; 704/172; Atrophy; Blood pressure; Electrical stimuli; Erectile dysfunction; Fertility; Heatstroke; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hyperthermia; Hypothalamus; Inflammation; Leydig cells; Morphology; multidisciplinary; Nerves; Prostate; Prostatitis; Relative humidity; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seminal vesicle; Sertoli cells; Sexual behavior; Sperm; Stroke; Testes; Tubules
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83121-3

The association of exertional heat stroke (EHS) and testicular morphological changes affecting sperm quality, as well as the association of EHS and hypothalamic changes affecting sexual behavior, has yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of EHS on fertility, erectile function, and testicular morphology in male rats. Animals were exercised at higher room temperature (36 ℃ relative humidity 50%) to induce EHS, characterized by excessive hyperthermia, neurobehavioral deficits, hypothalamic cell damage, systemic inflammation, coagulopathy, and multiple organ injury. In particular, EHS animals had erectile dysfunction (as determined by measuring the changes of intracavernosal pressure and mean arterial pressure in response to electrical stimulation of cavernous nerves). Rats also displayed testicular temperature disruption, poorly differentiated seminiferous tubules, impaired sperm quality, and atrophy of interstitial Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, and peri-tubular cells in the testicular tissues accompanied by no spermatozoa and broken cells with pyknosis in their seminal vesicle and prostatitis. These EHS effects were still observed after 3 days following EHS onset, at least. Our findings provide a greater understanding of the effect of experimentally induced EHS on masculine sexual behavior, fertility, stress hormones, and morphology of both testis and prostate.