Testicular cancer in mice: interplay between stem cells and endocrine insults

BACKGROUND: Incidence of type II germ cell tumors (T2GCT) has increased in young men possibly due to fetal/perinatal exposure to estrogenic compounds. Three-fold increased incidence of T2GCT was reported in men exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES). T2GCT is a development-related disease arising due to blocked differentiation of gonocytes into spermatogonia in fetal testes which survive as germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS) and initiate T2GCT. In our earlier study, T2GCT-like features were observed in 9 out of 10 adult, 100-day-old mice testes upon neonatal exposure to DES (2 μg/pup/day on days 1–5). Neonatal DES exposure affected testicular very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) and spermatogonial stem cells and resulted in infertility, reduced sperm counts and tumor-like changes leading to our postulate that testicular dysgenesis syndrome possibly has a stem cell basis. The present study was undertaken to further characterize testicular tumor in mice testes. METHODS: DES-exposed mice pups (n = 70) were studied on D100 and after 12 months to understand how T2GCT progresses. Besides histological studies, a carefully selected panel of markers were studied by immuno-fluorescence and qRT-PCR. RESULTS: DES resulted in either atrophied or highly vascularized, big-sized testes and extra-testicular growth was also observed. GCNIS-like cells with big, vacuolated cytoplasm and increased expression of OCT-4, SSEA-1, SCA-1 and CD166 (cancer stem cells marker) along with reduced c-KIT, MVH and PTEN were evident. Global hypomethylation was found associated with altered expression of Dnmts, Igf2-H19 and Dlk-Meg3 imprinted genes along with reduced expression of Ezh2, cell cycle regulator p57KIP2 and Meg3; however, Pten remained unaltered. Increased expression of PCNA and Ki67 was observed in concert with complete lack of SOX-9 suggesting Sertoli cells independent proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: Mouse model for T2GCT is described which will have immense potential to understand cancer initiation, cancer stem cells and also to develop effective therapies in future. T2GCT initiates from tissue-resident, pluripotent VSELs due to their altered epigenome. Neonatal exposure to DES blocks differentiation (spermatogenesis) and VSELs get transformed into CD166 positive cancer stem cells that undergo excessive self-renewal and initiate cancer in adult life challenging existing concept of fetal origin of T2GCT. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-022-02784-5.