[A histochemical study of testicular mast cells from patients with male infertility]

The proteoglycan of the mast cells from human testes was analyzed using histochemical techniques. Testicular biopsies were obtained from 50 with idiopathic male infertility, 13 with obstructive azoospermia, 6 with varicocele and 14 normal men. To identify the proteoglycan, nitrous acid treatment and chondroitinase ABC digestion were carried out in addition to specific staining procedures using Alcian Blue pH 1.0 and high iron diamine. In all clinical groups, the mast cells which contained heparin were predominant. However, in the idiopathic male infertility group, the mast cells which contained chondroitin sulfate increased significantly. This type of mast cells were rarely seen in normal testicular tissue, whereas in the testes of patients with idiopathic male infertility, 20 percent or more mast cells contained chondroitin sulfate. This observation demonstrates that a change in mast cell subclass occurs in the testes of the patients with idiopathic male infertility and implies that the mast cells play an important role in the etiology of this disorder.