Frontiers in Endocrinology (Jan 2019)

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Interfere With Leydig Cell Hormone Pathways During Testicular Descent in Idiopathic Cryptorchidism

  • Patrick Fénichel,
  • Patrick Fénichel,
  • Nicolas Chevalier,
  • Nicolas Chevalier,
  • Najiba Lahlou,
  • Patrick Coquillard,
  • Kathy Wagner-Mahler,
  • Michel Pugeat,
  • Patricia Panaïa-Ferrari,
  • Françoise Brucker-Davis,
  • Françoise Brucker-Davis

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00786
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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Cryptorchidism, a frequent genital malformation in male newborn, remains in most cases idiopathic. On the basis of experimental, epidemiological, and clinical data, it has been included in the testicular dysgenesis syndrome and believed to be influenced, together with genetic and anatomic factors, by maternal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Here, we analyze how EDCs may interfere with the control of testicular descent, which is regulated by two Leydig cell hormones, testosterone, and insulin like peptide 3 (INSL3).

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