Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
Animal Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Jeonbuk 55365, Republic of Korea.
Acta Histochem. 2019 Oct;121(7):784-790. doi: 10.1016/j.acthis.2019.06.010. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
Male germ cell apoptosis has been described in heat-damaged testes by cryptorchidism. In the present study, wild type pig testes were compared with cryptorchid testes via histological and immunohistological analyses. Spermatozoa were not detected in two cryptorchid testes and the diameters of seminiferous tubules were significantly reduced in cryptorchid pig testes compared with wild type pig testes. Cells expressing marker genes for undifferentiated spermatogonia, such as protein gene product 9.5 was significantly decreased in cryptochid pig testes. In addition, the numbers of cells expressing DEAD-box polypeptide 4 (VASA), synaptonemal complex protein 3, protamine, and acrosin (a biomarker of spermatocyte, spermatid, and spermatozoa) were significantly reduced in cryptochid pig testes. However, the number of vimentin-expressing Sertoli cells was not changed or was significantly increased in cryptorchid pig testes. This result indicates that male germ cells are specifically damaged by heat in cryptorchid pig testes and not Sertoli cells. These findings will facilitate the further study of spermatogenesis and the specific mechanisms by which cryptorchidism causes male infertility.
通过隐睾症描述了受热损伤睾丸中的雄性生殖细胞凋亡。在本研究中，通过组织学和免疫组织化学分析比较了野生型猪睾丸和隐睾猪睾丸。在两个隐睾猪睾丸中未检测到精子，与野生型猪睾丸相比，隐睾猪睾丸的生精小管直径显著减小。表达未分化精原细胞标记基因的细胞，如蛋白基因产物 9.5，在隐睾猪睾丸中显著减少。此外，表达 DEAD-box 多肽 4（VASA）、联会复合体蛋白 3、鱼精蛋白和顶体酶（精母细胞、精子和精子的生物标志物）的细胞数量在隐睾猪睾丸中显著减少。然而，表达波形蛋白的支持细胞数量在隐睾猪睾丸中没有改变或显著增加。这些结果表明，雄性生殖细胞在隐睾猪睾丸中受热后受到了特异性损伤，而不是支持细胞。这些发现将有助于进一步研究精子发生以及隐睾症导致男性不育的具体机制。
