Conclusion
The results of this study show that reduced gene expression of Bmp-15, Gdf-9 and Hsp-27, increased gene expression of bax and an imbalance between pro-oxidant/antioxidant ratio are few of the several mechanisms by which varicocele may lead to infertility in female.
Methods
In this study, thirty adult female albino rats were divided into three equal groups: Group 1 as the control group has 10 rats, Group 2 as the sham group has 10 rats and they underwent a sham operation and finally Group 3 has the varicocele group has 10 rats. Antioxidant assays for superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase were performed using specific assay kits and gene expression for Bax, Bmp-15, Hsp-27 and Gdf-9 was done via real time PCR.
Results
The adverse effects of the experimentally induced varicocele were reported and recorded on the left ovary compared to the right sided ovary (no varicocele induction) in the varicocele group. Real time PCR data shows that the expression of Gdf-9, Hsp-27 and Bmp-15 genes were all significantly reduced at p≤ 0.05.