Ultrastructure of testicular cells in rats treated with dibromochloropropane (DBCP)

Three days after a single injection of rats with dibromochloropropane (DBCP) the testicular seminiferous tubules displayed focal damage, which became more pronounced six days after the treatment. Severely damaged tubules exhibited an almost complete exfoliation of the germ cells, while the Sertoli cells' lining remained mostly intact. The most affected germ cells were the spermatids. The mitochondrial sheath of the midpiece was often incomplete, vacuolated and/or broken into several pieces. In many cases the mitochondrial sheath protruded towards the interior, thus partially separating dense fibers 1, 2 and 9 from 3 to 8. In addition, cross sections revealed several midpieces of different flagellae surrounded by a single plasmalemma. In young spermatids, an atypical acrosome formation was noted concomitantly with a progressive emptying of the central nuclear region. This resulted in nuclei with electron lucent center surrounded by a chromatin belt. Sertoli cells displayed intense phagocytotic activity, their cytoplasm containing increased numbers of lysosomes, cellular debris and axonemal fragments.