Testicular gene expression of Anti-Mullerian hormone, Androgen receptor and Inhibin alpha subunit in porcine cryptorchidism

Cryptorchidism, one of the common congenital abnormalities in boars, results in a boar taint in the carcass and economic loss. However, knowledge of gene expression of hormones controlling the testicular descent process, such as anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), androgen receptor (AR) and inhibin alpha subunit (INHA), in porcine testicular cryptorchidism is still limited. The present study aimed to investigate the gene expression profiles of AMH, AR and INHA in undescended testes (UDT) and descended testes (DT) in unilateral cryptorchid pigs of suckling (1.2 weeks of age), nursery (6 weeks of age) and growing-finishing pigs (15.20 weeks of age) and in normal testes (NT) at 1.2 weeks of age, using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). A significant decrease in expression of AMH and AR genes in the UDT group was observed compared with the DT group at 15.20 weeks. Within each group, the highest expression of AMH was observed at 6 weeks of age, whereas the lowest expression was shown at 15. 20 weeks compared with other ages. For the expression of AR, the lowest expression was revealed only in the UDT group at 15.20 weeks compared with other ages. Prominent expression of AR and INHA was observed in the DT group at 20 weeks. In conclusion, this study unveiled the decreased expression of AMH and AR genes in UDT compared with DT in growing-finishing pigs. Markedly increased expression of AR and INHA was observed in DT when pigs reached puberty.