ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the differentially expressed genes in the testicular tissues of men with unilateral cryptorchidism using cDNA gene chips.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Probes were prepared with the mRNA extracted from the testes of 6 patients with unilateral cryptorchidism and 3 normal fertile men. Then the differential gene expression profiles of the two groups were detected with cDNA gene chips containing 45 034 genes. The differentially expressed genes were analyzed with Pathway and GO in the MAS system.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Based on the ratio of > 3.0 or < 0.33, 346 differentially expressed genes were detected in the testis tissues of the patients with unilateral cryptorchidism, among which 60 were up-regulated and 286 down-regulated. The up-regulated genes were distributed mainly on chromosomes 1, 15, 5 and 19, associated with cell cycles, sperm motility, flagellar movement, DNA replication, and chromatin modification, while the down-regulated genes, mainly on chromosomes 1, 19, 16 and 11, related with spermatogenesis and anti-apoptosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Unilateral cryptorchidism involves the variation of the expressions of multifunctional genes. The establishment of gene expression profiles of unilateral cryptorchidism in human testes may provide a new theoretical basis for analyzing the genetic factors of unilateral cryptorchidism and investigating the etiology of spermatogenic failure.</p>