Science is not always pretty , and sometimes it is downright unmanageable to digest . In a new study , researchers successfully transplanted a rat ’s testicle under the cutis of a recipient rat ’s neck opening .
Let ’s understand the purpose behind such a ostensibly outre study , before cut into into the nitty - gritty of the procedure .
" Chemotherapy or radiation therapy for malignant cancers often hurt the spermatogenesis of young patients , " the authors write in their study . This transplantation inquiry , therefore , could one day aid to preserve fecundity in Crab affected role . The subject area is published inPLOS One .
To research this further , the team from Tokyo Medical University were particularly interested in the testicles ’ " immune privilege " status . If a sure body part is immunologically privileged , it mean they are able to tolerate the introduction of antigen without an inflammatory response . In essence , these region are not pronto turn down . The testis is one such favorable Hammond organ .
The difficulties then of such a surgical subroutine lie in the technical transplanting . The previous technique bank on the removal and transplanting of the organ back to its original location , have a go at it as orthotopic testis transplanting ( OTT ) .
This work used a different approach – the squad transfer the testicle to another area of the body , in this case the cervix , in a function call heterotopic testis transplantation ( HTT ) . This , the scientists say , is “ technically more simple and reproducible than OTT . "
( A ) The technique for harvesting the testis with the epididymis and a part of the vas deferens . ( B-complex vitamin ) The cervical HTT technique . ( C ) The transplantation of the bollock under the tegument of the neck . ( D ) Comparison of the subcutaneous temperatures . Kai Yi et al .
The testis - to - neck transplant was execute on 12 rats with a success pace of 100 per centum . The OTT success pace , on the other hand , was lower at 71 percent , with a total operative metre of more than an hour longer .
Still , three issues must be considered in the HTT organ transplant : fluctuation in temperature , blood flow disturbance due to the folding of the testicular vessels under the pelt of the neck opening , and the drainage of the donorvas deferensto the outside of the recipient body .
" Transplantation of children ’s testes and epididymides to their father or brothers before receive medical therapy may be helpful for obtaining mature spermatozoa from the transplanted testes at a next escort , " the authors notice . " It is also potential that the transplanted testes in recipients are transplanted back into donors after medical treatment . Therefore , the administration of the HTT mannikin may contribute to this unmet clinical indigence . "
So in spades not a glamourous discipline , but the possibilities for future inquiry and program are groovy . The young development improves our understanding of testicular immunology and could aid improve medical procedures that may disrupt the production of sperm , such as in the case of Cancer the Crab patients .
