Neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol causes granulomatous orchitis via epididymal inflammation

Diethylstilbestrol (DES), an endocrine-disrupting chemical, is an infamous artificial estrogenic compound. Although neonatal exposure to DES has been shown to result in inflammation of the male reproductive system, it has not, to our knowledge, been reported to induce testicular inflammation. Here we report that neonatal exposure to DES caused granulomatous orchitis with spermatogenic disturbance in 4 of 17 ICR male mice at 12 weeks of age. In the animals with spermatogenic disturbance, we observed either seminiferous tubules containing only cells with Sertoli cell features (likely Sertoli cell syndrome), or tubule cells in maturation arrest that contained only spermatogonia and/or spermatocytes. Following neonatal DES exposure, 5-week-old mice exhibited inflammation in cauda epididymis; by 8 weeks, the inflammation had spread to all segments of epididymis but not the testis; by 12 weeks, inflammation of the epididymis was observed in all mice. These data indicated that cauda epididymis has increased sensitivity to neonatal DES exposure compared to other segments of epididymis and testis. The data also implied that neonatal DES exposure-induced inflammation in cauda epididymis extended gradually to the testis via corpus and caput during development.