The role of the gubernaculum in the descent and undescent of the testis

Therapeutic Advances in Urology

Volumn 1, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 115-121

  Hutson, John M ^a,b   Nation, T ^b   Balic, A ^b   Southwell, B R ^b  

^a ROYAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE   (Australia)

Author keywords

androgen; calcitonin gene related peptide; cryptorchidism; genitofemoral nerve; gubernaculum; Insl3; orchidopexy; testicular descent; testis

Indexed keywords

EID: 84993746187     PISSN: 17562872     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1756287209105266     Document Type: Review

References (61)

1. Adham, I.M. and Agoulnik, A.I. (2004) Insulin-like 3 signalling in testicular descent. Int J Androl 27: 257-265.
2. Agoulnik, A.I. (2007) Relaxin and related peptides in male reproduction. Adv Exp Med Biol 612: 49-64.
3. Anderson, L.E. and Seybold, V.S. (2004) Calcitonin gene-related peptide regulates gene transcription in primary afferent neurons. J Neurochem 91: 1417-1429.
4. Attah, A.A. and Hutson, J.M. (1993) The role of intra-abdominal pressure in cryptorchidism. J Urol 150: 994-996.
5. Backhouse, K.M. (1982) Embryology of testicular descent and maldescent. Urol Clin North Am 9: 315-325.
6. Barteczko, K.J. and Jacob, M.I. (2000) The testicular descent in human. Origin, development and fate of the gubernaculum hunteri, processus vaginalis peritonei, and gonadal ligaments. Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol 156: III-X, 1-98.
7. Barthold, J.S., McCahan, S.M., Singh, A.V., Knudsen, T.B., Si, X., Campion, L. et al. (2008) Altered expression of muscle- and cytoskeleton- related genes in a rat strain with inherited cryptorchidism. J Androl 29: 352-366.
8. Beasley, S.W. and Hutson, J.M. (1987) Effect of division of genitofemoral nerve on testicular descent in the rat. Aust N Z J Surg 57: 49-51.
9. Clarnette, T.D., Rowe, D., Hasthorpe, S. and Hutson, J.M. (1997) Incomplete disappearance of the processus vaginalis as a cause of ascending testis. J Urol 157: 1889-1891.
10. Clarnette, T.D., Sugita, Y. and Hutson, J.M. (1997) Genital anomalies in human and animal models reveal the mechanisms and hormones governing testicular descent. Br J Urol 79: 99-112.
11. Cortes, D., Thorup, J. and BI, P. (2003) The spermatogonia may be harmed when the mother smoke at least 10 cigarettes per day during pregnancy - a pilot study including cryptorchid boys. Horm Res 60: 1-175.
12. Cortes, D., Thorup, J. and Visfeldt, J. (2000) Hormonal treatment may harm the germ cells in 1 to 3-year-old boys with cryptorchidism. J Urol 163: 1290-1292.
13. Ferlin, A., Zuccarello, D., Garolla, A., Selice, R. and Foresta, C. (2007) Hormonal and genetic control of testicular descent. Reprod Biomed Online 15: 659-665.
14. Fisher, J., Macpherson, S., Marchetti, N. and Sharpe, R. (2003) Human ‘testicular dysgenesis syndrome’: a possible model using in-utero exposure of the rat to dibutyl phthalate. Hum Reprod 18: 1383-1394.
15. Foresta, C., Zuccarello, D., Garolla, A. and Ferlin, A. (2008) Role of hormones, genes, and environment in human cryptorchidism. Endocr Rev 29: 560-580.
16. Franke, F.E., Pauls, K., Rey, R., Marks, A., Bergmann, M. and Steger, K. (2004) Differentiation markers of sertoli cells and germ cells in fetal and early postnatal human testis. Anat Embryol (Berl) 209: 169-177.
17. Fu, P., Layfield, S., Ferraro, T., Tomiyama, H., Hutson, J., Otvos Jr L. et al. (2004) Synthesis, conformation, receptor binding and biological activities of monobiotinylated human insulin-like peptide 3. J Pept Res 63: 91-98.
18. Goodman, E.C. and Iversen, L.L. (1986) Calcitonin gene-related peptide: novel neuropeptide. Life Sci 38: 2169-2178.
19. Hack, W.W., Sijstermans, K., Van Dijk, J., Van Der Voort-Doedens, L.M., De Kok, M.E. and Hobbelt-Stoker, M.J. (2007) Prevalence of acquired undescended testis in 6-year, 9-year and 13-year-old dutch schoolboys. Arch Dis Child 92: 17-20.
20. Hadziselimovic, F., Herzog, B., Firard, J. and Stalder, G. (1984) Cryptorchidism - histology, fertility and treatment. Prog Reprod Biol Med 10: 1-15.
21. Hadziselimovic, F., Zivkovic, D., Bica, D.T. and Emmons, L.R. (2005) The importance of mini-puberty for fertility in cryptorchidism. J Urol 174: 1536-1539; discussion 1538-1539.
22. Harnaen, E.J., Na, A.F., Shenker, N.S., Sourial, M., Farmer, P.J., Southwell, B.R. et al. (2007) The anatomy of the cremaster muscle during inguinoscrotal testicular descent in the rat. J Pediatr Surg 42: 1982-1987.
23. Hasthorpe, S., Tainton, K., Peart, M., Roeszler, K.N., Bell, K.M., Lusby, P.E. et al. (2007) G2/M checkpoint gene expression in developing germ cells. Mol Reprod Dev 74: 531-538.
24. Heyns, C.F. and Hutson, J.M. (1995) Historical review of theories on testicular descent. J Urol 153: 754-767.
25. Hrabovszky, Z., Di Pilla, N., Yap, T., Farmer, P.J., Hutson, J.M. and Carlin, J.B. (2002) Role of the gubernacular bulb in cremaster muscle development of the rat. Anat Rec 267: 159-165.
26. Huff, D.S., Fenig, D.M., Canning, D.A., Carr, M.G., Zderic, S.A. and Snyder 3rd, H.M. (2001) Abnormal germ cell development in cryptorchidism. Horm Res 55: 11-17.
27. Hutson, J.M. (1985) A biphasic model for the hormonal control of testicular descent. Lancet 2: 419-421.
28. Hutson, J.M., Albano, F.R., Paxton, G., Sugita, Y., Connor, R., Clarnette, T.D. et al. (2000) In vitro fusion of human inguinal hernia with associated epithelial transformation. Cells Tissues Organs 166: 249-258.
29. Hutson, J.M. and Beasley, S.W. (1987) The mechanisms of testicular descent. Aust Paediatr J 23: 215-216.
30. Hutson, J.M. and Hasthorpe, S. (2005) Testicular descent and cryptorchidism: the state of the art in 2004. J Pediatr Surg 40: 297-302.
31. Kollin, C., Hesser, U., Ritzen, E.M. and Karpe, B. (2006) Testicular growth from birth to two years of age, and the effect of orchidopexy at age nine months: a randomized, controlled study. Acta Paediatr 95: 318-324.
32. Kolon, T.F., Patel, R.P. and Huff, D.S. (2004) Cryptorchidism: diagnosis, treatment, and long-term prognosis. Urol Clin North Am 31: 469-480; viii-ix.
33. Lam, S.K., Clarnette, T.D. and Hutson, J.M. (1998) Does the gubernaculum migrate during inguinoscrotal testicular descent in the rat? Anat Rec 250: 159-163.
34. Lewis, L. (1948) Cryptorchidism. Journal of Urology 60: 345-356.
35. Maclaughlin, D.T. and Donahoe, P.K. (2004) Sex determination and differentiation. N Engl J Med 350: 367-378.
36. Miller, A., Hong, M.K. and Hutson, J.M. (2004) The broad ligament: a review of its anatomy and development in different species and hormonal environments. Clin Anat 17: 244-251.
37. Na, A.F., Harnaen, E.J., Farmer, P.J., Sourial, M., Southwell, B.R. and Hutson, J.M. (2007) Cell membrane and mitotic markers show that the neonatal rat gubernaculum grows in a similar way to an embryonic limb bud. J Pediatr Surg 42: 1566-1573.
38. Nef, S. and Parada, L.F. (1999) Cryptorchidism in mice mutant for Insl3. Nat Genet 22: 295-299.
39. Ng Y.H., Farmer P.J., Sourial M., Southwell B.R., Hutson J.M. (2009) Growth of the rat gubernaculum in vitro and localisation of its growth centre. J Pediatr Surg 44: 422-426.
40. Nightingale, S.S., Western, P. and Hutson, J.M. (2008) The migrating gubernaculum grows like a ‘‘limb bud’’. J Pediatr Surg 43: 387-390.
41. Nistal, M. and R.P. (1984) Infertility in adult males with rectactile testes. Fertility and Sterility 41: 395-403.
42. Pham, S.B., Hong, M.K., Teague, J.A. and Hutson, J.M. (2005) Is the testis intraperitoneal? Pediatr Surg Int 21: 231-239.
43. Rabinowitz, R. and Hulbert Jr W.C. (1997) Late presentation of cryptorchidism: the etiology of testicular re-ascent. J Urol 157: 1892-1894.
44. Renfree, M.B. and Short, R.V. (1988) Sex determination in marsupials: evidence for a marsupialeutherian dichotomy. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 322: 41-53.
45. Ritzen, E.M., Bergh, A., Bjerknes, R., Christiansen, P., Cortes, D., Haugen, S.E. et al. (2007) Nordic consensus on treatment of undescended testes. Acta Paediatr 96: 638-643.
46. Rosenfeld, M.G., Mermod, J.J., Amara, S.G., Swanson, L.W., Sawchenko, P.E., Rivier, J. et al. (1983) Production of a novel neuropeptide encoded by the calcitonin gene via tissue-specific rna processing. Nature 304: 129-135.
47. Satokata, I., Benson, G. and Maas, R. (1995) Sexually dimorphic sterility phenotypes in hoxa10-deficient mice. Nature 374: 460-463.
48. Schwindt, B., Farmer, P.J., Watts, L.M., Hrabovszky, Z. and Hutson, J.M. (1999) Localization of calcitonin gene-related peptide within the genitofemoral nerve in immature rats. J Pediatr Surg 34: 986-991.
49. Scott, D.J., Fu, P., Shen, P.J., Gundlach, A., Layfield, S., Riesewijk, A. et al. (2005) Characterization of the rat Insl3 receptor. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1041: 13-16.
50. Shenker, N.S. and Hutson, J.M. Challenging Orthodoxy: A New Theory of the Origin of Cremaster. Clinical Anatomy (in press).
51. Shono, T., Ramm-Anderson, S. and Hutson, J.M. (1994) Transabdominal testicular descent is really ovarian ascent. J Urol 152: 781-784.
52. Smith, J.A., Hutson, J.M., Beasley, S.W. and Reddihough, D.S. (1989) The relationship between cerebral palsy and cryptorchidism. J Pediatr Surg 24: 1303-1305.
53. Thorsson, A.V., Christiansen, P. and Ritzen, M. (2007) Efficacy and safety of hormonal treatment of cryptorchidism: current state of the art. Acta Paediatr 96: 628-630.
54. Thorup, J., Haugen, S., Kollin, C., Lindahl, S., Lackgren, G., Nordenskjold, A. et al. (2007) Surgical treatment of undescended testes. Acta Paediatr 96: 631-637.
55. Tickle, C. (2003) Patterning systems–from one end of the limb to the other. Dev Cell 4: 449-458.
56. Tong, S.Y., Hutson, J.M. and Watts, L.M. (1996) Does testosterone diffuse down the wolffian duct during sexual differentiation? J Urol 155: 2057-2059.
57. Van der Schoot, P. and Elger, W. (1993) Perinatal development of gubernacular cones in rats and rabbits: effect of exposure to anti-androgens. Anat Rec 236: 399-407.
58. Virtanen, H.E. and Toppari, J. (2008) Epidemiology and pathogenesis of cryptorchidism. Hum Reprod Update 14: 49-58.
59. Yong, E.X., Huynh, J., Farmer, P., Ong, S.Y., Sourial, M., Donath, S. et al. (2008) Calcitonin gene-related peptide stimulates mitosis in the tip of the rat gubernaculum in vitro and provides the chemotactic signals to control gubernacular migration during testicular descent. J Pediatr Surg 43: 1533-1539.
60. Zhou, B., Hutson, J., Hasthorpe, S. and Baker, M. Normal pre-pubertal development of spermatogonia in immature testicular feminized (Tfm/Y) mice with complete androgen resistance. J Pediatr Surg (in press).
61. Zimmermann, S., Steding, G., Emmen, J.M., Brinkmann, A.O., Nayernia, K., Holstein, A.F. et al. (1999) Targeted disruption of the Insl3 gene causes bilateral cryptorchidism. Mol Endocrinol 13: 681-691.