Postnatal hemicastration
causes a compensatory increase in Sertoli cells in the remaining
testis to a remarkable degree, depending on the age at which
the testis is removed.
This response is also generally considered to be fairly rapid and was detected within
1 wk in boars hemicastrated at 8 days of age. Recent studies in
our laboratory confirm the rapid response to hemicastration but
show that the response induced by estrogen deprivation takes
much longer, suggesting that different mechanisms may be
involved. Moreover, the increase in testicular size and Sertoli
cell number in response to hemicastration is even further
enhanced by concomitant estrogen deprivation.