Fig. 3

TUNEL Assay Reveals Cellular Apoptosis In Epididymal Tissue Across Different Experimental Groups. Note: Representative TUNEL staining images of epididymal tissues from each group. DAPI: DAPI staining highlights the blue nuclei morphology of epididymal tissues. While a few TUNEL-positive cells were observed in the modified vasectomy group, most nuclei remained intact, indicating a low apoptosis rate. In contrast, the traditional vasectomy group exhibited widespread distribution of TUNEL-positive cells, particularly concentrated in lesion areas. The nuclear morphology showed prominent apoptotic features, reflecting severe tissue damage and apoptosis induced by this surgical approach. TUNEL: TUNEL staining marks apoptotic cells in green. The proportion of TUNEL-positive cells in the modified vasectomy group was significantly lower than in the traditional vasectomy group. In the negative control and sham operation groups, very few TUNEL-positive cells were observed, and DAPI staining showed normal nuclear structures with minimal signs of apoptosis. Merge: Merged images of DAPI and TUNEL staining. Scale bar = 100 μm. The groups are defined as follows: SO: sham operation group; NC: Negative control group; TV: traditional vasectomy group; MV: modified vasectomy group