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Testicular mast cell heterogeneity in idiopathic male infertility
Objective:
To determine if the mast cell subclass changes in diseased testes.
Design:
Retrospective.
Setting:
University hospital urology clinic and anatomy laboratory.
Patients, Participants:
Fourteen normal men and 50 patients with idiopathic male infertility.
Interventions:
Histochemical techniques to identify proteoglycans of mast cells were applied to the obtained testicular biopsy specimens.
Main Outcome Measures:
The numbers of the heparin containing mast cell and the chondroitin sulfate containing mast cell were measured with light microscopy.
Results:
The total number of mast cells and the ratio of chondoroitin sulfate containing mast cells were significantly increased in the testes from patients with idiopathic male infertility.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that mast cells may play a certain role in the etiology of idiopathic male infertility.