title: Increased mast cells in the limiting membrane of seminiferous tubules in testes of patients with idiopathic infertility.
abstract: In the course of our histological studies on the testes of idiopathically infertile men, we found an increased number of mast cells in the limiting membrane of the seminiferous tubule. In 16 patients with idiopathic infertility, quantification of mast cells within the limiting membrane of the seminiferous tubule was performed. There apparently was a tendency to increased numbers of mast cells in the seminiferous tubule wall with decreased sperm count and an average Johnsen score for each tubule. These findings suggest that quantification of mast cells in the seminiferous tubule wall may be a useful marker in the histopathological evaluation of testis biopsies in patients with idiopathic infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takaba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyake
mesh_terms: D002452:Cell Count; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000473:pathology; D012016:Reference Values; D012671:Seminiferous Tubules / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013737:Testis / Q000473:pathology*