Fertility and histological studies of the contralateral testes in two different intra‐ and extra‐abdominal rat models of unilateral cryptorchidism

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of location of the testis on both testicular development and fertility in unilateral cryptorchidism. Material and methods Forty‐nine Wistar King A newborn male rats were divided into three groups. In group 1 (15 rats) intra‐abdominal unilateral cryptorchidism were created by the intra‐abdominal fixation of the testis in the neonatal period. In group 2 (16 rats) extra‐abdominal unilateral cryptorchidism was created by extra‐abdominal fixation of the gubernaculum in the neonatal period. In group 3, 18 rats underwent a sham operation as controls. At 90 days of age, fertility was then assessed in each rat by housing it with two mature virgin females for 2 weeks. Thereafter, at 115–120 days of age, the rats were killed and their testes removed for histological examination. Results There was no significant difference in the pregnancy rate between females coupled with rats from any group, but the mean number of offspring was significantly lower in females coupled with rats in group 1 than in group 2. Furthermore, histological examination of both the cryptorchid and contralateral scrotal testes showed more severe changes in the intra‐abdominal than the extra‐abdominal testes. Conclusion These results suggest that intra‐abdominal cryptorchid testes are significantly more impaired than extra‐abdominal cryptorchid testes, and that such impairment might be caused by exposure of the testis to a higher temperature. The more severely impaired undescended testes may thus induce the degeneration of the contralateral scrotal testis and thereby cause subfertility in the intra‐abdominal unilateral cryptorchid rat model.

The role of ketotifen in the prevention of testicular damage in rats with experimental unilateral undescended testes

“…It has been reported that the ST diameters of unilateral undescended testes in adult rats decrease when compared with those of the descended testes and control group. 35 , 36 In our study, it was also observed that the ST diameters of the undescended testes decreased in the prepubertal, pubertal, and adult periods. The mean ST diameters of the undescended testes in rats given MC blocker were greater than in those rats not given MC blocker.…”

Study of the protective effect of vitamin C on testicular tissue following experimental unilateral cryptorchidism in rats

“…In our study, amounts of all histopathological parameters (except spermatogonia cells nuclei diameters in the scrotal testes) have showed moderate decrease in their values. Although the effect of unilateral cryptorchidism on ipsilateral testicular function may be attributable to the increase in ipsilateral testicular temperature, there is much controversy concerning the mechanisms that mediate the detrimental effect of unilateral cryptorchidism on contralateral testicular function (Salman et al ., ; Zakaria et al ., ; Watts et al ., ; Zivkovic et al ., ). It has demonstrated an increase in contralateral testicular blood flow and temperature in animals with unilateral cryptorchidism (Ono & Sofikitis, ; Kaki & Sofikitis, ; Saalu et al ., ,b).…”

“…The detrimental effects of unilateral cryptorchidism on the contralateral testes have been described by many authors in relation to subfertility (Salman et al ., ; Ono & Sofikitis, ; Zakaria et al ., ; Kaki & Sofikitis, ; Watts et al ., ; Zivkovic et al ., ; Saalu et al ., ,b). In our study, amounts of all histopathological parameters (except spermatogonia cells nuclei diameters in the scrotal testes) have showed moderate decrease in their values.…”

“…(). Many studies have expressed that deleterious histological changes occur on the testis after induction of cryptorchidism (Salman et al ., ; Zakaria et al ., ; Huff et al ., ; Zivkovic et al ., ; Saalu et al ., ,b). Our study with data showed severe degenerative changes and significant reduction in the amounts of all histopathological parameters (seminiferous tubules diameter, epithelial height, Sertoli and spermatogonia cells nuclei diameter, percentage of spermatogenesis and meiotic index) in cryptorchid testes, therefore, corroborate these findings.…”

Cryptorchidism: effect on fertility of age at the time of orchiopexy, position and size of the testis and the existence of epididymal anomalies

“…Les résultats d'une étude expérimentale réalisée sur deux groupes de rats : un premier groupe ayant une cryptorchidie unilatérale intraabdominale et un second groupe ayant une cryptorchidie unilatérale extra-abdominale ont montré que les structures histologiques dans le premier groupe de testicule induit cryptorchide sont plus altérées alors que l'histologie testiculaire est proche de la normale lorsque le testicule est bas situé. Les auteurs de cette étude concluent que la fertilité serait plus altérée lorsque le testicule siège en intraabdominal [19]. Cela peut être dû à l'augmentation de la température qui inhiberait le développement histologique du testicule et serait donc un facteur supplémentaire d'aggravation des lésions cellulaires [20][21][22].…”