Histochemical Study of the Interstitial Tissue in Scrotal and Abdominal Boar Testes

Abstract

The present study describes the glycosidic content of the interstitial tissue in testes from healthy boars and from unilateral and bilateral abdominal cryptorchid boars using lectin histochemistry. The Leydig cells of healthy boars contained glycans with fucosyl, mannosyl, glucosyl, neuraminic acid and galactosyl residues, which have structural and transport functions, and participate in androgen synthesis and in cell regulation. Unilateral cryptorchidism induced high glucosyl and low galactosyl content in the Leydig cells of scrotal testes, resulting in impaired androgen production. In abdominal testes, the Leydig cells exhibited increased amounts of glucosyl and reduced amounts of galactosyl and neuraminic acid residues, resulting in defective cell regulation and lack of androgen synthesis. In healthy boars, the extracellular glycans contained fucosyl, galactosyl, glucosyl and neuraminic acid residues, which confer viscoelasticity on the interstitial tissue and participate in substrate transport, hormome binding and cell–cell interaction. Unilateral cryptorchidism did not induce anomalies in extracellular glycans in scrotal testes, but unilateral and bilateral cryptorchidism resulted in an increased content of fucosyl and galactosyl, and a decreased content of glucosyl and neuraminic acid residues in abdominal testes, leading to reduced viscoelasticity and defective substrate transport across the extracellular matrix.