Abstract:
Objective To establish male rat models for fertility following liver transplantation.
Methods Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used as the donors and recipients of liver transplantation. The donor liver was transplanted with two-cuff technique. Liver transplantation was performed in 15 male SD rats. At 3 weeks after liver transplantation, 5 rats were randomly sacrificed for detection of sperm deformity rate. The remaining male rats were mixed bred and mated with healthy female SD rats at a ratio of 1︰2. General conditions of the rats undergoing liver transplantation were recorded. Liver function parameters were detected after liver transplantation. Postoperative sperm deformity rate was observed. The pregnant status of female rats and health situation of their offsprings was monitored.
Results All 15 rats (100%) underwent liver transplantation successfully. Nine rats (9/10) survived longer than 8 weeks. Liver function parameters were normal in male rats following liver transplantation. The sperm deformity rate was ranged from 0.5% to 1.3%. Ten male rats undergoing liver transplantation were mixed bred with female rats at a ratio of 1︰2 for 1 week. All female rats were successfully mated and delivered their offsprings after 3 weeks. The offsprings had no evident physiological deformity.
Conclusion Male rat models for fertility are successfully established after liver transplantation, which serve as an animal model to evaluate the fertility performance in male patients undergoing liver transplantation.
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