Epididymal disjunction anomalies in undescended testis – a factor associated with spermatic obstruction

Logsdon, Natasha T; Gallo, C.; Sampaio, Francisco J.B.; Favorito, Luciano A.

doi:10.1590/s1677-5538.ibju.2022.99.07

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 21 publications

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“…In man, efferent ducts form the bulk of what is called the head or proximal part of the epididymis (Sullivan et al 2019; Légaré and Sullivan 2020) and pathological changes are more commonly found in this region in larger mammals, including obstructive lesions, which contribute substantially to male infertility (Ball and Mitchinson 1984;McEntee 1990;Rajalakshmi et al 1990; Pal et al 2006). The high incidence of epididymal disjunctions associated with epididymal anomalies points to the importance of understanding the endocrine regulation for development of the male ductal systems (Logsdon et al 2022).…”

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confidence: 99%

Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

et al. 2023

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The androgen pathway via androgen receptor (AR) has received the most attention for development of male reproductive tracts.The estrogen pathway through estrogen receptor (ESR1) is also a major contributor to rete testis and efferent duct formation, but the role of progesterone via progesterone receptor (PGR) has largely been overlooked. Expression patterns of these receptors in the mesonephric tubules (MTs) and Wol an duct (WD), which differentiate into the efferent ductules and epididymis, respectively, remain unclear because of the di culty in distinguishing each region of the tracts. This study investigated AR, ESR1, and PGR expressions in the murine mesonephros using three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction. The receptors were localized in serial para n sections of the mouse testis and mesonephros by immunohistochemistry on embryonic days (E) 12.5, 15.5, and 18.5. Speci c regions of the developing MTs and WD were determined by 3-D reconstruction using Amira software. AR was found rst at the distal end (gonadal side) of MTs at E12.5, and the epithelial expression showed increasing strength from cranial to the caudal side. Epithelial expression of ESR1 was found in the cranial WD and MTs near the WD rst at E15.5. PGR was weakly positive only in the MTs and cranial WD starting on E15.5 but negative in the distal end of the MTs. This 3-D analysis suggests that gonadal androgen acts rst on the distal end of MTs but that estrogen is the rst to in uence MTs on the WD side, while potential PGR activity is delayed and limited to the epithelium.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

et al. 2023

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Epididymal abnormalities associated with sperm obstruction

Vieiralves¹

2022

Int. braz j urol.

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The testicular descent process is a complex event, occurring defectively in 1% to 4% of full-term newborn boys and 1% to 45% of preterm newborns (1). Cryptorchia is a common genital anomaly not fully understood. Much has been studied on the histological development of cryptorchid testes with many previous publications. More than 40 years ago, germ cell counts, and the analysis of spermatogonial development associated the cryptorchidism to male fertile potential, with strong data showing that abnormal germ cell development is often present (2). In addition, anomalies of the epididymis, vaginal process and gubernaculum have been reported with a potential impact on fertility, especially regarding the anatomical relationship between the epididymis and the testis. This may be abnormal in boys with cryptorchidism (3), but the reported frequency ranges widely from 16% to 75% probably because this anomaly is difficult to be characterized and classified (4, 5). In this context, which criteria, then, related to the patterns of epididymal anomalies, would be associated with a possible obstruction, thus impacting fertility?In this interesting study, with original figures and clear tables, the authors evaluated a number of epididymal abnormalities associated with sperm obstruction in patients with undescended testis according to: testicular position, patient age and patency of the vaginal process (6). For this, in a period of nine years (2011-2020), 87 patients with cryptorchidism who underwent orchidopexy had their condition retrospectively analyzed. For the relationship between the testis and the epididymis, the authors used a previous classification (7, 8): Type I -epididymis adhered to the testis in the head and tail region; Type II -epididymis fully adhered to the testis; Type III -epididymis inserted in the testicle only in the head; Type IV -epididymis adhered to the testis only in the tail; Type V -no visible connection between testis and epididymis; and Type VI -epididymal atresia. Type I and II relationships were considered normal, while the other types are considered epididymal anomalies. Those with head disjunction and total epididymal disjunction (Type IV and V) were locked together, as, in theory, it can lead to infertility due to the presence of a sperm obstruction preventing the passage of sperm to the epididymis, if present bilaterally.Based on this classification, the authors identified epididymal anomalies associated with sperm obstruction in almost 20% of cases, occurrence that is unrelated with age, testicular position or permeability of the vaginal process. That said, it is clear a potential impact of this pathology on the male reproductive function, which may be associated with obstructive azoospermia. Despite this initial conclusion, an impossibility of histological analysis (observing the patency of the epididymal ducts -obviously not performed for ethical reasons) and the lack of long-term follow-up to verify if they developed infertility,

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Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

Omotehara

Hess

Nakata

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The androgen pathway via androgen receptor (AR) has received the most attention for development of male reproductive tracts. The estrogen pathway through estrogen receptor (ESR1) is also a major contributor to rete testis and efferent duct formation, but the role of progesterone via progesterone receptor (PGR) has largely been overlooked. Expression patterns of these receptors in the mesonephric tubules (MTs) and Wolffian duct (WD), which differentiate into the efferent ductules and epididymis, respectively, remain unclear because of the difficulty in distinguishing each region of the tracts. This study investigated AR, ESR1, and PGR expressions in the murine mesonephros using three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction. The receptors were localized in serial paraffin sections of the mouse testis and mesonephros by immunohistochemistry on embryonic days (E) 12.5, 15.5, and 18.5. Specific regions of the developing MTs and WD were determined by 3-D reconstruction using Amira software. AR was found first at the distal end (gonadal side) of MTs at E12.5, and the epithelial expression showed increasing strength from cranial to the caudal side. Epithelial expression of ESR1 was found in the cranial WD and MTs near the WD first at E15.5. PGR was weakly positive only in the MTs and cranial WD starting on E15.5 but negative in the distal end of the MTs. This 3-D analysis suggests that gonadal androgen acts first on the distal end of MTs but that estrogen is the first to influence MTs on the WD side, while potential PGR activity is delayed and limited to the epithelium.

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Epididymal disjunction anomalies in undescended testis – a factor associated with spermatic obstruction

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

Epididymal abnormalities associated with sperm obstruction

Expression patterns of sex steroid receptors in developing mesonephros of the male mouse: three-dimensional analysis

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