We aimed to establish a novel rat model of seminal vesiculitis that would provide an effective approach to investigate the pathogenesis of this disease in the future. Eight male rats received the same operation, during which the root of one of the two seminal vesicles was partly ligatured with sutures and the other vesicle was left intact. The samples of seminal vesicles were harvested on the 8th day following the operation. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome stains were used to observe the histopathology and the presence of fibrous tissue in seminal vesicles, respectively. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were applied to determine the tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cyclooxygenase-2 levels in seminal vesicle tissues. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to measure the gene expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines. H2O2 levels in the seminal plasma from the seminal vesicle were also measured. Hematoxylin and eosin staining suggested that there was inflammatory cell infiltration into the seminal vesicles treated by partial root ligation. The tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cyclooxygenase-2 proteins were significantly upregulated in the treated seminal vesicles. The tumor necrosis factor-alpha, cyclooxygenase, interleukin 6, and inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression levels were also upregulated in the treated seminal vesicles. The H2O2 levels in the seminal plasma from seminal vesicles with partial root ligation were significantly elevated compared with those from vesicle left intact. In conclusion, partially ligating the root of the seminal vesicle via sutures in rats is an effective method to establish a seminal vesiculitis rat model.To get more news about Seminal vesiculitis cause, you can visit our official website.

Seminal vesiculitis is a common infectious disease in andrology. It includes acute and chronic periods. Urinary tract infection symptoms in the acute period of seminal vesiculitis are similar to those of acute prostatitis. Hematospermia and lower abdominal (or perineal) pain and discomfort are common clinical manifestations.12 Infection and inflammation in the urogenital tract is considered as the major cause of seminal vesiculitis.3 Furthermore, tuberculosis or other atypical infections can also lead to seminal vesiculitis.45 Although seminal vesiculitis is mostly minimally harmful to the human body, recurrent episodes of hematospermia or pain can lead to anxiety, fear, erectile dysfunction, and even male infertility.6

Seminal vesicles are a pair of tubular organs with the twisted and convoluted tubular, and the tubular passage is easily blocked, especially in cases of seminal vesiculitis. Male accessory gland infections (prostatitis, prostate-vesiculitis, and prostate-vesiculo-epididymitis) may impair sperm function and cause male infertility through multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, such as the effects of microorganisms, viruses, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory cytokines.7 In some clinic cases, we have found that the sperm function in some male patients may be improved after an obstruction of the seminal ductal system is relieved via seminal vesicle endoscopy (data not shown). However, the mechanism of this finding has not yet been elucidated. We designed an animal model that could be used to investigate the seminal vesicle obstructions.
A total of 8 male Sprague–Dawley rats (7 weeks of age) were obtained from the Experimental Animal Centre of Wuhan University (Wuhan, China) and treated in accordance with the Guideline for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the US National Institutes of Health (Publication No. 85-23, revised 1996). This animal experiment was approved by the Ethics committee of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (Wuhan, China). The eight male rats received the same operation, during which the root of one seminal vesicle was partially ligatured with sutures and the other vesicle was left intact to be used as a control.

Operating procedure
The rats were anesthetized by peritoneal injection with 30 mg kg−1 pentobarbital sodium (Mercker Co., Darmstadt, Germany). A midline incision was made in the lower abdomen of the rats, and the pair of seminal vesicles in the rear of the prostate was exposed. Next, the root section that was proximal to one seminal vesicle was tied with sutures (diameter: 0.200–0.249 mm), and the syringe needle (outer diameter: 0.71 mm) (Shandong Boda Medical Products Co., Ltd., Heze, China) was inserted between the root and the sutures to control the ligature tightness (Figure 1a and 1b. Then, the abdomen incision was sutured, rendering the operation complete. Seminal vesicle tissues and the seminal plasma were harvested from the rats on the 8th postoperative day.

Harvested seminal vesicle tissues were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde (Sinopharm, Wuhan, China). Then, the fixed tissue samples were embedded in paraffin (Paraplast, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA). Paraffin sections (5 μm) were made on slides and dewaxed with xylene (Sinopharm). Dewaxed tissue sections were rehydrated in an alcohol gradient and rinsed with deionized water. An HE staining assay (Wuhan Guge Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan, China) was used on seminal vesicle tissues. Similarly, seminal vesicle tissues were also subjected to Masson's trichrome staining (Wuhan Guge Biological Technology Co., Ltd.). Slides were dehydrated using graded alcohol and finally made transparent with xylene. The stained tissues were visualized under a CX-21 microscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). The smooth muscle-to-collagen ratio in the tissues was determined on Masson's trichrome staining photographs using a high-power lens.