Prenatal phthalate causes cryptorchidism postnatally by inducing transabdominal ascent of the testis in fetal rats

Abstract

Phthalate esters, which are commonly used as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride, are also well known to disturb Sertoli cells. This study aims to show the effect of prenatally administered phthalate on testicular descent in pre- and postnatal rats. Pregnant rats were exposed to mono- n-butyl phthalate (MBP) by gavage from the 15th to the 18th gestational days. Rats administered with solvent only were used as controls. In 20-day-old fetuses (n = 15), the degree of transabdominal testicular ascent in relation to the bladder neck was thus found to be significantly higher in MBP-treated rats than that of the controls (n = 19). In addition, in MBP-treated male offspring (n = 26), 22 rats showed either bilateral or unilateral cryptorchidism at the age of 30 to 40 days old, and the occurrence of cryptorchidism was 84.6%. By contrast, the occurrence of cryptorchidism was 0% in the control rats (n = 15, P < .001). It is therefore suggested that prenatal exposure to MBP may disturb the Sertoli cells and elevate the fetal testes relative to the bladder neck while also inducing cryptorchidism postnatally. Sertoli cells may thus play an important role in the transabdominal descent of the testis by secreting Müllerian-inhibiting substance (MIS), which is known to act as a putative mediator of the transabdominal phase.