TY - JOUR

T1 - Experimentally induced testicular dysgenesis syndrome originates in the masculinization programming window

AU - van den Driesche, Sander

AU - Kilcoyne, Karen R

AU - Wagner, Ida

AU - Rebourcet, Diane

AU - Boyle, Ashley

AU - Mitchell, Rod

AU - McKinnell, Chris

AU - Macpherson, Sheila

AU - Donat, Roland

AU - Shukla, Chitranjan J

AU - Jorgensen, Anne

AU - Meyts, Ewa Rajpert-De

AU - Skakkebaek, Niels E

AU - Sharpe, Richard M

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - The testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) hypothesis, which proposes that common reproductive disorders of newborn and adult human males may have a common fetal origin, is largely untested. We tested this hypothesis using a rat model involving gestational exposure to dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which suppresses testosterone production by the fetal testis. We evaluated if induction of TDS via testosterone suppression is restricted to the "masculinization programming window" (MPW), as indicated by reduction in anogenital distance (AGD). We show that DBP suppresses fetal testosterone equally during and after the MPW, but only DBP exposure in the MPW causes reduced AGD, focal testicular dysgenesis, and TDS disorders (cryptorchidism, hypospadias, reduced adult testis size, and compensated adult Leydig cell failure). Focal testicular dysgenesis, reduced size of adult male reproductive organs, and TDS disorders and their severity were all strongly associated with reduced AGD. We related our findings to human TDS cases by demonstrating similar focal dysgenetic changes in testes of men with preinvasive germ cell neoplasia (GCNIS) and in testes of DBP-MPW animals. If our results are translatable to humans, they suggest that identification of potential causes of human TDS disorders should focus on exposures during a human MPW equivalent, especially if negatively associated with offspring AGD.

AB - The testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) hypothesis, which proposes that common reproductive disorders of newborn and adult human males may have a common fetal origin, is largely untested. We tested this hypothesis using a rat model involving gestational exposure to dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which suppresses testosterone production by the fetal testis. We evaluated if induction of TDS via testosterone suppression is restricted to the "masculinization programming window" (MPW), as indicated by reduction in anogenital distance (AGD). We show that DBP suppresses fetal testosterone equally during and after the MPW, but only DBP exposure in the MPW causes reduced AGD, focal testicular dysgenesis, and TDS disorders (cryptorchidism, hypospadias, reduced adult testis size, and compensated adult Leydig cell failure). Focal testicular dysgenesis, reduced size of adult male reproductive organs, and TDS disorders and their severity were all strongly associated with reduced AGD. We related our findings to human TDS cases by demonstrating similar focal dysgenetic changes in testes of men with preinvasive germ cell neoplasia (GCNIS) and in testes of DBP-MPW animals. If our results are translatable to humans, they suggest that identification of potential causes of human TDS disorders should focus on exposures during a human MPW equivalent, especially if negatively associated with offspring AGD.

KW - Journal Article

U2 - 10.1172/jci.insight.91204

DO - 10.1172/jci.insight.91204

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28352662

VL - 2

JO - JCI Insight

JF - JCI Insight

SN - 2379-3708

IS - 6

M1 - e91204

ER -