Spermatogonial Stem Cell Transplantation and Subsequent Orchidopexy in the Bilateral Cryptorchid Mouse Model

oleh: Seyed Javad Mowla, Mansoureh Movahedin, Forouzan Absalan

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Royan Institute (ACECR), Tehran 2011-01-01

Deskripsi

Objective: Testicular cell transplantation has been widely used to investigate the restorationof fertility in rodent models. In this research we apply transplantation as a treatmentmethod in the cryptorchid model and compare this method with orchidopexy, which is theroutine treatment for this problem. We studied the controversial effects of treatment on thenumber of germ cells and other morphometrical characteristics of testicular and epididymalparameters in cryptorchid mice.Materials and Methods: Bilateral cryptorchidism was induced in immature mice by returningtwo testes to the abdominal cavity via a surgical procedure. Respectively orchidopexyand transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells (were isolated from bilateral cryptorchidtestes) with later orchidopexy was performed two and three months after heat exposure inseparate cryptorchid mice. The weight of testes, spermatogenic cell numbers, as well asepididymal sperm parameters were measured at two and eight weeks after treatment. Theresults were analyzed by performing ANOVA and Tukey’s tests.Results: Our results showed that after orchidopexy, the testis remained atrophied and thenumber of spermatogonia returned to the near normal range, but spermatogenesis wasrecovered only partially at the stage of differentiated germ cells. After transplantation weobserved significant changes in the stage of sperm formation compared to orchidopexy.Conclusion: We demonstrated that the spermatogonia isolated from bilateral cryptorchidmice have the ability to regenerate spermatogenesis. Also, while orchidopexy is a routinetreatment for cryptorchidism, transplantation may thus prove to be a promising techniquefor the preservation of fertility for severely damaged cryptorchid testes that have scarcespermatogonia.