Attenuation of Spermatogonial Stem Cell Activity in Cryptorchid Testes

作者：Kamisawa Hideyuki; Kojima Yoshiyuki^*; Mizuno Kentaro; Imura Makoto; Hayashi Yutaro; Kohri Kenjiro

来源：Journal of Urology, 2012, 187(3): 1047-1052.

DOI：10.1016/j.juro.2011.10.170

• cryptorchidism
• infertility
• spermatogenesis
• embryonic stem cells
• UTF1 protein
• rat

Purpose: To elucidate the mechanism of infertility caused by cryptorchidism we focused on early stage spermatogenesis and spermatogonial stem cell activity in undifferentiated spermatogonia in cryptorchid testes. %26lt;br%26gt;Materials and Methods: Histological findings and expression patterns of the stem cell marker undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 were examined in a unilateral cryptorchid rat model. We removed unilateral descended testis and contralateral descended testis from cryptorchid and normal rats (control), respectively, 18 days postcoitum to 144 days postpartum. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: In descended testes gonocyte differentiation into early A spermatogonia occurred at 9 days postpartum. However, this transformation was altered in undescended testes. Furthermore, the undifferentiated embryonic cell transcription factor 1 negative early A spermatogonia-to-positive early A spermatogonia ratio was significantly higher in the undescended testis group (mean +/- SD 0.69 +/- 0.04) than in the control (0.46 +/- 0.10, p = 0.037) and descended testis (0.44 +/- 0.05, p = 0.022) groups, indicating decreased early A spermatogonia with spermatogonial stem cell activity in cryptorchid testes. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusions: In cryptorchid testes the differentiation from gonocytes into early A spermatogonia and the stem cell activity of early A spermatogonia were altered during the early stage of spermatogenesis, suggesting that the loss of spermatogonial stem cell activity in cryptorchid rats resulted in altered spermatogenesis, thus interfering with fertility.

• 出版日期2012-3