TY - JOUR
T1 - The cofactor effect
T2 - Varicocele and infertility
AU - Peng, B. C.H.
AU - Tomashefsky, P.
AU - Nagler, H. M.
PY - 1990
Y1 - 1990
N2 - The varicocele may be a cofactor that, when potentiated by other cofactors (i.e., gonadotoxins), causes male infertility. This hypothesis could explain the unpredictable effects of the varicocele on fertility. Male rats with experimental varicoceles, sham surgery, or no surgery were treated for 30 days with the known gonadotoxins cyclophosphamide or nicotine. Spermatogenesis was assessed by flow cytometry. Cyclophosphamide alone caused gonadotoxicity, and its effect was accentuated by sham or varicocele surgery. Nicotine and the presence of a varicocele were more gonadotoxic than either the varicocele or nicotine by itself. This data would lend support to the cofactor hypothesis of the pathophysiology of the varicocele.
AB - The varicocele may be a cofactor that, when potentiated by other cofactors (i.e., gonadotoxins), causes male infertility. This hypothesis could explain the unpredictable effects of the varicocele on fertility. Male rats with experimental varicoceles, sham surgery, or no surgery were treated for 30 days with the known gonadotoxins cyclophosphamide or nicotine. Spermatogenesis was assessed by flow cytometry. Cyclophosphamide alone caused gonadotoxicity, and its effect was accentuated by sham or varicocele surgery. Nicotine and the presence of a varicocele were more gonadotoxic than either the varicocele or nicotine by itself. This data would lend support to the cofactor hypothesis of the pathophysiology of the varicocele.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/0025310593
U2 - 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)53651-6
DO - 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)53651-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 2358080
AN - SCOPUS:0025310593
SN - 0015-0282
VL - 54
SP - 143
EP - 148
JO - Fertility and Sterility
JF - Fertility and Sterility
IS - 1
ER -