Department of Pediatric Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Cell Biol Toxicol. 2012 Dec;28(6):397-407. doi: 10.1007/s10565-012-9231-0. Epub 2012 Sep 4.
Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a nonsteroidal synthetic estrogen widely used in estrogen therapy. In animal models, exposure to DES disrupts the outgrowth of the gubernacula, leading to testis maldescent. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of DES on gubernaculum are direct or indirect, and the underlying mechanisms are largely obscure. In this study, mouse gubernaculum testis cells were isolated and treated by DES, and cell morphology and function were examined. The results showed that DES changed the morphology and inhibited the proliferation of gubernacular cells. Furthermore, DES increased intracellular [Ca(2+)] and induced F-actin rearrangement and stress fiber formation in gubernaculum testis cells in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these data suggest that DES impairs the morphology and inhibits the proliferation and contractility of gubernaculum testis cells. The experimental model we established and our observations based on this model help provide new insight into the role of DES in the etiology of cryptorchidism.
己烯雌酚（DES）是一种广泛用于雌激素治疗的非甾体合成雌激素。在动物模型中，DES 的暴露会破坏 gubernacula 的生长，导致睾丸下降不全。然而，DES 对 gubernaculum 的影响是直接的还是间接的，以及潜在的机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。在这项研究中，我们分离并处理了小鼠 gubernaculum testis 细胞，检测了细胞形态和功能。结果表明，DES 改变了 gubernacular 细胞的形态并抑制了其增殖。此外，DES 以剂量依赖的方式增加了细胞内[Ca(2+)]，并诱导了 F-actin 的重排和应力纤维的形成。综上所述，这些数据表明 DES 损害了 gubernaculum testis 细胞的形态，并抑制了其增殖和收缩性。我们建立的实验模型和基于该模型的观察结果有助于深入了解 DES 在隐睾症发病机制中的作用。
