Altered Integrins Expression of Patients Affected by Cryptorchidism

Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the expression of the integrin isoforms alpha 7A and beta 1A, expressed by myogenic precursor cells, and alpha 7B and beta 1D, expressed by mature muscle cells in the cremaster of patients affected by an undescended testis. Methods: Fifteen samples of cremaster were obtained from patients undergoing surgery for an undescended testis. Thirty control specimens of cremaster were harvested from patients with congenital hydrocele or inguinal hernia. Immunofluorescent analysis was carried out using anti-alpha 7A, beta 1A, alpha 7B, and beta 1D integrin antibodies. Sections were observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results: As compared with controls, a significant loss of a alpha 7B (p = 0.0355) and beta 1D (p = 0.0069) integrins and a higher expression of alpha 7A (p = 0.0003) and beta 1A (p = 0.0150) was detected in the cremaster of patients affected by an undescended testis. Conclusions: Our data document a critical alteration of the cytoskeleton of cremasteric smooth muscle cells in patients with an undescended testis. This might explain the altered function in smooth muscle cells in cremaster implied during testicular descent. We therefore speculate that the postnatal splicing of alpha 7A to alpha 7B and of beta 1A to beta 1D integrins is delayed. This could account for the common clinical scenario of spontaneous descent of the testes in the first months of life.