摘要
Cryptorchidism is associated with infertility in adulthood.Early orchiopexy is suggested to reduce the risk.Information is lacking on the potential link between infant germ cell maturation and the risk of future infertility.The objective of the study was to evaluate age-related germ cell development in cryptorchidism.Immunostaining for markers of germ cell development(octamerbinding transcription factor 3/4[0CT3/4],placental alkaline phosphatase[PLAP],KIT proto-oncogene[C-KIT],podoplanin[D2-40],Lin-28 homolog A[LIN28],and G antigen 7[GAGE-7])was performed in testicular biopsies from 40 cryptorchid boys aged 4-35 mon ths.Germ cell nu mbers and distributi ons were evaluated in cross sectio ns of semi niferous tubules,with and without immuno staini ng.OCT3/4,D2-40,and LIN 28 were gen erally expressed in the early stages of germ cell development,as show n by positive expression in germ cells in the central region of seminiferous tubules・In contrast,PLAP and GAGE-7 were expressed in both central and peripheral parts of the tubules in the early stages of development and expressed mainly in a peripheral position with advancing age.Germ cell maturation was delayed in this study population as compared with that observed in our previous study on germ cell markers in a healthy population.The number of GAGE-7-positive germ cells per tubular cross section obtained by immunostaining was significantly higher than that obtained by standard hematoxylin and eosin staining.Double immunostaining revealed heterogeneity in germ cell development in cryptorchid testes.These results shed light on the pathophysiology of germ cell development in boys with cryptorchidism.
