Ultrastructure of mice Leydig cells at chronic lead intoxication

In the present paper we report on the study of the ultrastructure of Leydig cells of male mice after application of various doses of Pb(NO3)2 in drinking water for 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 weeks. The increasing dose and time interval lead to formation of numerous concentric lamellar systems, accumulation of fatty vacuoles, vacuolization of mitochondria, pronounced surface differentiation, and changed shape of the nucleus of Leydig cells. The ultrastructural picture corresponded with an enhanced metabolic activity in some cells; in other cells dystrophic changes were observed in other. In addition to that, some cells were found that are considered by us to be an intermediary stage between the nondifferentiated mesenchymal cells and the fully functional Leydig cells.