Plasminogen activator in cultured cells of human undescended testis.

To know the secretory potential of Sertoli cells in pubertal testes of males who underwent orchiopexy at a prepubertal age, the plasminogen activator (PA) activity of 12 patients was measured in vitro and compared with that of pubertal testes of patients with varicocele. The assay system for PA activity was based on the solubilization of 125I-fibrin in the presence of plasminogen, and the PA activity in each patient was obtained as the maximum increment with stimulation by ovine FSH in the culture medium of testicular cells. The mean value of PA activity in patients after orchiopexy was remarkably lower than that in varicocele patients (p less than 0.005), which corresponded with histological differences in spermatogenesis between the two groups. These results suggest that in comparison to those patients with varicocele, the patients with prepubertal undescended testis showed impaired potential for protein biosynthesis despite successful orchiopexy.