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DNA organization in patients with a history of cryptorchidism
J G Barone1, A P Christiano, W S Ward
1Division of Urology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Objectives:
Cryptorchidism is associated with infertility, even in those patients with unilateral undescended testes. The mechanism for this infertility is not understood. We demonstrated recently that in mice, a stable nuclear matrix, a structural component of the nucleus that organizes DNA, is necessary for proper embryogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that spermatozoa from cryptorchid patients had unstable nuclear matrices.
Methods:
Semen samples from 7 patients with a history of undescended testes and decreased fertility were tested for sperm nuclear matrix stability using our halo assay.
Results:
All 7 patients were found to have unstable nuclear matrices, as compared with controls.
Conclusions:
This preliminary study suggests that one factor in the decreased fertility of cryptorchid patients may be unstable sperm nuclear matrices.