title: Assessment of testicular metabolic integrity with P-31 MR spectroscopy.
abstract: To evaluate the reliability of phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy in the assessment of acute testicular ischemia, vascular integrity, and spermatogenesis, the authors studied in vivo canine and primate testicles grouped as follows: group 1 testes (n = 8), in situ canine controls; group 2 (n = 11), canine testes subjected to warm ischemia; group 3, canine (n = 4) and primate (n = 4) testicles from hormone-treated animals. Group 1 control testicles showed high monophosphoester (MP) levels; low levels of inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphodiester (PD), and phosphocreatine; and high levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Group 2 testes revealed a time-dependent decay of MP/Pi ratios (from 2.1 to 0.70). Regeneration of ATP was noted in the acute reperfusion period. After 6 weeks of pituitary gonadotropin suppression, group 3 testes showed a significant decrease (P less than .05) in MP/PD ratios from a control level of 2.6 +/- 0.3 and a decrease in the MP/beta-ATP ratio from 2.4 +/- 0.1 to 1.8 +/- 0.3. P-31 MR spectroscopy appears to be a potential method for noninvasively assessing testicular ischemic injury and the metabolic integrity of spermatogenesis.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D007511:Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D013737:Testis / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone; D004958:Estradiol; C004648:testosterone enanthate