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TESTICULAR LIPIDS

Summary.: Experiments were conducted using twenty-four mature male rabbits to determine the effects of short-term unilateral cryptorchidism on the fatty acid composition of testicular phospholipids and triglycerides.

Total lipids were extracted from testes from unoperated control rabbits and from rabbits rendered unilaterally cryptorchid for 2, 4 or 6 days. Phospholipids and triglycerides were separated by thin layer chromatography. The methyl esters of the fatty acids in each fraction were separated and measured using gas-liquid chromatography.

The phospholipid fraction was relatively high in the fatty acids palmitate, stearate and oleate whereas the triglyceride fraction contained relatively high levels of oleate, linoleate and palmitate. In the phospholipid fraction of the translocated testes, the proportion of palmitate rose after 2 days (P<0·01), returned to control levels at 4 days, then decreased (P<0·01) 6 days after translocation. Stearate, palmitaldehyde and stearaldehyde concentrations increased (P<0·001) in translocated testes at 4 and 6 days. Concentration of oleate in the phospholipid fraction decreased (P<0·01) after 2 or 4 days and linoleate was lower (P<0·05) than controls after 2 and 6 days of translocation. In the phospholipid fraction of scrotal testes, palmitate percentage increased (P<0·05) at 2 days, and linoleate and stearate decreased (P<0·05) at 2 and 6 days, respectively.

Palmitate concentration in the triglyceride fraction of translocated testes increased (P<0·05) at 2 and 6 days as did stearate percentage (P<0·01) after 6 days. Myristate was also higher after 4 days of translocation (P<0·05). A decreased percentage of oleate was found in the triglyceride fraction of 4- and 6-day translocated testes. Triglycerides from the scrotal testes contained higher levels of palmitoleate (P<0·05) and myristate (P<0·05) than unoperated controls, but lesser percentages of stearate (P<0·01).