الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract This work aimed at identifying mast cells in testicular biopsies from 30 patients with nonobstructive azoospermia to assess the possible association between the presence of mast cells and azoospermia. They were divided into 3 groups, group 1: hypospermatogenesis cases, group 2: maturation arrest cases and group 3: Sertoli cell only syndrome cases and mixed atrophy cases. The biopsies were stained with haematoxylin and eosin stain for re-evaluation by Johnson score and with toluidine blue stain for mast cells identifcation. Two types of mast cells, peritubular and interstitial, were demonstrated in all sections with varied counts. Testicular sections in group 3 showed a significant increase in both peritubular and interstitial mast cells compared with other groups. Peritubular mast cell number was significantly correlated negatively with Johnson score and interstitial mast cell number has no significant correlation. The interstitial mast cells number demonstrates no significant correlation with the ratio of tubules with sclerosis, while the number of the peritubular mast cells shows a highly significant correlation. Interstitial and peritubular mast cells number have a significant correlation with the ratio of Sertolionly tubules. the number of the peritubular mast cells correlates significantly with the degree of peritubular fibrosis, while interstitial mast cell number has no significant correlation. There is no significant relation between the degree of peritubular fibrosis and the histological diagnosis of all groups. It is concluded that mast cell has a role in fibrosis which is a common finding in infertile patients, proposing a new goal for medical treatment of infertile males. |