The endocrine system is critical to the maintenance of testicular function. The homeostasis of sex hormone levels is orchestrated by positive and negative feedback systems controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This study investigated the long-term effects of hemicastration on testicular size and function in stallions. Four Thoroughbred stallions, 4-6 years of age, were included in this study. Several parameters, including testicular weight and volume, plasma testosterone concentrations, VASA-positive germ cell populations and cross-sectional areas of the seminiferous tubules were compared in stallions that underwent two hemicastrations, approximately 11 months apart. The weights and volumes of testes harvested at the second hemicastration were significantly higher than those of testes collected at the first hemicastration. However, VASA-positive germ cell populations and the cross-sectional areas of seminiferous tubules were not significantly different between testes harvested at the first and second hemicastrations. Similarly, plasma testosterone concentrations measured weekly for 3 weeks before the first hemicastration, 3 weeks after the first hemicastration, and 3 weeks before the second hemicastration were not significantly different. Our results suggest that hemicastration results in compensatory enlargement of the remaining testis and compensatory steroidogenesis to maintain normal reproductive function in stallions.
Keywords: Germ cells; Hemi-castration; Stallion; Testis; Testosterone.
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