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Human Reproduction, Vol. 15, No. 7, 1543-1547, July 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Significance of human testicular mast cells and their subtypes in male infertility

K. Yamanaka, M. Fujisawa1, H. Tanaka, H. Okada, S. Arakawa and S. Kamidono

Department of Urology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

The mast cell populations in the human testis were examined using immunohistochemical techniques in five fertile volunteers and 12 patients with obstructive azoospermia, seven patients with idiopathic azoospermia, and 30 patients with varicocele. The number of mast cells per seminiferous tubular section was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the men with idiopathic azoospermia. In the normal testes, mast cells containing only tryptase were the predominant subtype. In the patient groups, the predominant subtype of mast cell was shifted to that containing both tryptase and chymase. The average number of mast cells containing both tryptase and chymase per seminiferous tubular section was significantly increased (P < 0.05) compared with the controls in patients with obstructive azoospermia, idiopathic azoospermia, and varicocele. The number of mast cells containing only tryptase was not increased in infertile men. The selective expansion of the mast cell population containing both tryptase and chymase may be related to spermatogenetic disorders and testicular fibrosis.

Key words: cathepsin G/heterogeneity/male infertility/mast cell/tryptase

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Urology, Kobe University School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0017, Japan. E-mail: masato{at}med.kobe-u.ac.jp


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