Prenatal testosterone and dihydrotestosterone exposure disrupts ovine testicular development

Androgens play important roles during the first trimester of intrauterine life, coinciding with genital tract differentiation, during virilization and maintenance of secondary male characteristics, and during initiation of spermatogenesis. Little is known about the impact of inappropriate exposure to excess androgens during fetal development on male sexual maturation and reproduction. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of prenatal 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone treatment during ovine sexual differentiation on post-pubertal testicular formation and subsequent potential for fertility as assessed by epididymal sperm characteristics. Rams prenatally treated with testosterone exhibited increased testicular weight relative to age-matched controls and prenatal DHT-treated rams (P<0.05), as well as elevated total and free testosterone concentrations compared with DHT-treated rams (P=0.07 and P<0.05 respectively). The percentage of progressively motile sperm from the epididymis was significantly reduced in prenatal DHT-treated but not testosterone-treated rams compared with control rams (P<0.05). The testosterone-treated rams had a greater number of germ cell layers than DHT-treated rams, but comparable to the controls. Prenatal testosterone-treated rams had significantly larger seminiferous tubule diameter and lumen diameter compared with prenatal DHT-treated (P<0.05). Significantly, more prenatal DHT- and testosterone-treated rams (P<0.05) had occluded tubule lumen than control rams. Findings from this study demonstrate that exposure to excess testosterone/DHT during male fetal sexual differentiation have differential effects on post-pubertal testicular size, seminiferous tubule size and function, sperm motility, and testosterone concentrations.