Food Industry Infrastructure Team, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju-gun 55365, Korea.
Department of Livestock, Korea National University of Agricultures and Fisheries, Jeonju-si 54874, Korea.
Cells. 2022 Aug 10;11(16):2476. doi: 10.3390/cells11162476.
Cryptorchidism, a condition in which testes fail to descend from the abdomen into the scrotum, is a risk factor for infertility and germ cell cancer. Normally, tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells in the testes form a blood-testes barrier that regulates spermatogenesis; however, the effect of cryptorchidism on tight junctions is not well-understood. We established a model of heat-induced testicular damage in dogs using surgical cryptorchidism. We sequenced RNA to investigate whether certain transcripts are expressed at higher rates in heat-damaged versus normally descended testes. Claudins, cell adhesion molecules, were relatively highly expressed in cryptorchid testes: claudins 2, 3, 5, 11, and 18 were significantly increased in cryptorchid testes and reduced by orchiopexy. -positive Sertoli cells were present in the seminiferous tubules in both cryptorchid and control testes. Using real-time PCR and Western blot analysis to compare Sertoli cells cultured at 34 °C and 37 °C, we found that Sertoli cell claudins 2, 3, 5, 11, and 18 were significantly increased at 37 °C; however, accumulation was higher in the G0/G1 phase in Sertoli cells cultured at 34 °C. These results indicate that testicular hyperthermia caused by cryptorchidism affects claudin expression, regulated germ cell death, and the proliferation of Sertoli cells.
隐睾症是一种睾丸未能从腹部下降到阴囊的疾病，是不育和生殖细胞癌的一个风险因素。通常情况下，睾丸中相邻支持细胞之间的紧密连接形成了一个调节精子发生的血睾屏障；然而，隐睾症对紧密连接的影响还不是很清楚。我们通过手术隐睾症在犬中建立了一个热诱导睾丸损伤模型。我们对 RNA 进行了测序，以研究在热损伤与正常下降的睾丸中是否有某些转录本表达水平更高。紧密连接蛋白是细胞黏附分子，在隐睾睾丸中相对高表达：claudin 2、3、5、11 和 18 在隐睾睾丸中显著增加，并通过睾丸固定术减少。阳性支持细胞存在于隐睾和对照睾丸的曲细精管中。通过实时 PCR 和 Western blot 分析比较在 34°C 和 37°C 下培养的支持细胞，我们发现支持细胞的紧密连接蛋白 2、3、5、11 和 18 在 37°C 时显著增加；然而，在 34°C 下培养的支持细胞中，G0/G1 期的积累更高。这些结果表明，隐睾症引起的睾丸过热会影响紧密连接蛋白的表达，调节生殖细胞的死亡和支持细胞的增殖。
