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Published-Ahead-of-Print September 20, 2006, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.106.000828

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Cryptorchidism and semen quality: TEM and molecular study

Elena Moretti , Giovanni Di Cairano , Serena Capitani , Giacomo Scapigliati , Baccio Baccetti , and Giulia Collodel *

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: collodel{at}unisi.it.

Cryptorchidism is a pathological condition in which the testes are retained in the abdominal cavity, resulting in atrophic seminiferous tubules. The aim of this study was to analyse semen quality of men who underwent orchidopexy for unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism during childhood. Semen quality was investigated by light microscopy to evaluate sperm concentration and motility. Sperm morphology was performed by transmission electron microscope and the data were mathematically elaborated. The presence of Y microdeletions was investigated by PCR. The effect of cryptorchidism on meiosis was explored by FISH. The incidence of azoospermia resulted higher in the group with bilateral compared to unilateral cryptorchidism and the semen parameters were better in the unilateral group. Sperm pathologies, detected by TEM, indicated a severe deterioration of sperm quality in both groups. Compared to fertile controls, necrosis appeared to be the most frequent pathology and it could be considered as a final step of the apoptotic process, as demonstrated by different authors in animal models. The presence of chromosome Y microdeletions in patients with cryptorchidism and severe spermatogenetic defects is controversial. No microdeletions were found in this study. FISH values indicated that the mean frequencies of gonosome disomies and diploidies were generally out of normal range, indicating a severe disturbance of meiotic segregation. The effects induced by cryptorchidism seems to include severe spermatogenetic impairment and a concomitant derangement of meiosis.


Key words: Infertility • Semen Analysis • Sperm • Spermatogenesis • Testis • cryptorchidism • sperm aneuploidies






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