Does chemical sympathectomy alter the ontogeny of gubernacular migration in vivo?

BACKGROUND

Testicular descent occurs in several stages, but the exact mechanism remains obscure. Sympathetic nerves have been proposed to have a role by a possible action on developing cremaster muscle, following observations of sympathetic dysfunction in cremaster from boys with cryptorchidism. This study aimed to see if chemical sympathectomy affected testicular descent in rats.

METHODS

Sprague-Dawley dams were injected with 6-hydroxydopamine (days 15-19; 75 microg/kg) or control vehicle alone, and male pups examined at 0 to 10, 20, 30, and 60 days of age. The length of the processus vaginalis was measured and sections taken for histology.

RESULTS

No difference in processus vaginalis growth was found between experimental and control groups, both macro- and microscopically. Chemical sympathectomy was confirmed by loss of adrenergic fibres in the adrenal cortex of experimental, but not control, animals.

CONCLUSIONS

These studies suggest that sympathetic innervation is not an important part of testicular descent in the rat but does not exclude a pathologic role in undescended testes or effects in humans only.