The effect of flutamide on expression of androgen and estrogen receptors in the gubernaculum and surrounding structures during testicular descent.

Background/purpose: Inguinoscrotal testicular descent is controlled by androgens between embryonic days E16-19, but androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) locations are unknown. We aimed to find AR, ERα, and ERβ in the gubernaculum and inguinal fat pad (IFP) in normal rats and after flutamide treatment.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley timed-mated rats were injected with flutamide (75 mg/kg body weight/5% ethanol + oil) on E16-19 or vehicle alone.

What is new in cryptorchidism and hypospadias--a critical review on the testicular dysgenesis hypothesis.

It has been hypothesized that poor semen quality, testis cancer, undescended testis, and hypospadias are symptoms of one underlying entity--the testicular dysgenesis syndrome--leading to increasing male fertility impairment. Though testicular cancer has increased in many Western countries during the past 40 years, hypospadias rates have not changed with certainty over the same period. Also, recent studies demonstrate that sperm output may have declined in certain areas of Europe but is probably not declining across the globe as indicated by American studies.

The hormonal control of testicular descent.

The migration of the testes from the abdomen into the scrotum requires both an anatomical change in connecting structures and regulating signals to mediate this process. The gubernaculum is the principle structure in testicular descent. Its development appears to be controlled by insulin-like hormone 3 (INSL3) and androgen.