Anti-Mullerian hormone expression in testes of neonatal and prepubertal unilateral cryptorchid swine (Sus scrofa domesticus)

The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is synthesized by the gonads of all vertebrates. In mammals, AMH expressed by the testis Sertoli cells causes regression of the Müllerian ducts during the early fetal life, regulates gonadal function during the postnatal life up to puberty, and has extra-gonadal effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. In mammals, circulating AMH likely derives from the gonads and its abnormal concentrations indicate the presence of several testicular pathologies, including cryptorchidism. These data confirm that the AMH production by Sertoli cells is correlated to this pathology. In this context, the possible role of AMH as an endocrine marker of cryptorchidism in boars remains unexplored. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blotting (WB), the expression of AMH in testes of neonatal and prepubertal unilateral cryptorchid swine. Both IHC and WB findings revealed that all the neonatal and prepubertal cryptorchid testes show always a high positivity for Sertoli cells, whereas in contro-lateral normally descended testes this positivity decreased from neonatal to late prepubertal phase. These results suggest that the unilateral cryptorchid testis may influence the AMH plasma concentrations in prepubertal swine, with its persistent production by Sertoli cells.