A risk assessment of a common drug using xenograft model

Congenital cryptorchidism is the most common male reproductive disorders that is manifest at birth. It affects 2% to 9% of newborn boys (1) and the incidence have been reported to increase (2,3). Cryptorchidism confers an increased risk of infertility and testicular cancer in adulthood (3-5). The process of testis descent is dependent on hormones secreted by fetal testis. According to the studies using rat, fetal testosterone deficiency during a critical period in masculinization development leads to male reproductive disorders such as cryptorchidism (6-8). However, the environmental/lifestyle factors that reduce testosterone production have remained elusive, since it is not possible at present to decide whether rodent models mimic hormone secretion in human fetal testis.