[Ultrastructural study of the blood-testis barrier in rat by the lanthanum method]

Ultrastructural changes of the testes in 35-week-old WBN/Kob rats were investigated using the lanthanum-tracer method. Tissues were cut and fixed with a solution containing 1% lanthanum and 2% glutaraldehyde in a 0.1 M sodium cacodylate buffer at pH 7.8 and with a solution of 2% osmium and 1% lanthanum in a 0.1 M sodium cacodylate buffer. Ultrathin sections of epoxy resin-embedded specimens were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and observed into a JEM-100CXS JEOL transmission electron microscope. The remnants of each testis were fixed in Bouin's fixative, and observed light-microscopically, where almost all seminiferous tubules in all of the six testes were found to be severely atrophied. Electron microscopically, lanthanum pigments were limited in the Sertoli cell tight junctions of the seminiferous tubules even in the severely atrophied tubules. In conclusion, it is unlikely that the testicular atrophy in WBN/Kob rats is attributable to dysfunction of the blood-testis barrier.