Ontogenesis and cell specific localization of Fas ligand expression in the rat testis.

Over the past few years, a number of experimental evidences suggested the involvement of Fas Ligand (FasL) expressing Sertoli cells to induce apoptosis of Fas bearing germ cells. However, the FasL expression during testicular development and its cell specific localization within the testis is still a matter of debate. In the present study, we have monitored FasL expression during rat testis development by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and evaluated cell specific localization of FasL expression, by in situ RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, on adult rat testis. RT-PCR analysis, performed on total RNA from rat testes obtained from 1 day up to 1-year-old animals, demonstrated the presence of FasL transcripts at all developmental stages examined. In situ RT-PCR analysis clearly indicated the presence of FasL mRNA in Sertoli cells of adult testis, while we could never detect FasL transcripts in germ cells. Immunohistochemistry experiments showed a strong immunostaining for FasL in Sertoli cells of adult testis and again, no immunopositivity was observed in germ cells. In conclusion, our data suggest that FasL expression in rat testis is present from the early postnatal days up to the adult, and the Sertoli cells is the main FasL expressing cell within the seminiferous tubule.

The contractile wall of the caput epididymidis in men affected by congenital or postinflammatory obstructive azoospermia.

The transport and storage of spermatozoa in the epididymis depend on the contractile activity of its tubular wall. It is not known what differences exist in the contractile wall of the human epididymis in cases of obstructive azoospermia. The contractile wall in the tubules of the caput epididymidis was analyzed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy in 10 azoospermic men, 5 with a bilateral congenital absence of vas deferens (CBAVD) and 5 with a bilateral postinflammatory congestive obstruction of the epididymis. Five specimens from the same region of the caput epididymidis, obtained from fertile men who had undergone an orchidectomy because of testicular cancer, served as controls. No differences were observed between congenital and congestive obstructions. The contractile wall in caput tubules proximal to the obstructed level was strongly thickened when compared with controls (62.98 +/- 5.84 micro; 80.82 +/- 7.72 micro vs 19.59 +/- 2.23 micro, respectively, for congestive and congenital obstructions vs controls; P <.0001 vs controls), and the spindle-shaped myoid cells, which formed the contractile wall in normal cases, were replaced by large smooth muscle cells (SMCs) that showed features of coexisting contractile and secretory functions. The former included crowded cytoplasmic bundles of thin myofilaments (5-6 nm in diameter) converging to a large number of dense bodies, numerous micropinocytotic vesicles of the plasma membrane, and a continuous cell basement membrane. The presence of a developed rough endoplasmic reticulum and a Golgi complex, associated with the accumulation of thick layers of pericellular basement membrane-like material and ground substance, was indicative of a secretory phenotype of SMCs. The increased mechanical forces on the epididymal wall upstream from the obstruction might eventually activate the differentiation of myoid cells into SMCs, leading to an altered physiology of the contractile wall that could have possible clinical relevance in the case of microsurgical epididymovasostomy.

Fas expression correlates with human germ cell degeneration in meiotic and post-meiotic arrest of spermatogenesis.

Degeneration of human male germ cells was analysed by means of light (LM) and transmission electron (TEM) microscopy. The frequency of degenerating cells was correlated with that of Fas-expressing germ cells in human testes with normal spermatogenesis (n = 10), complete early maturation arrest (EMA) (n = 10) or incomplete late maturation arrest (LMA; n = 10) of spermatogenesis. LM analysis of testis sections with normal spermatogenesis indicated that degenerating germ cells were localized in the adluminal compartment of the seminiferous epithelium. TEM showed that apoptotic cells were mostly primary spermatocytes and, to a lesser extent, round or early elongating spermatids. Apoptotic germ cells appeared to be eliminated either in the seminiferous lumen or by Sertoli cell phagocytosis. An increased number of degenerating cells was observed in testes with LMA as compared with normal testes and testes with EMA of spermatogenesis (P < 0.001, Wilcoxon's rank sum test). Comparison of these results with those obtained from immunohistochemistry experiments demonstrated a tight correlation between the number of apoptotic cells and the number of Fas-expressing germ cells (P = 0.001, Spearman's rank = 0.69). These findings suggest that altered meiotic and post-meiotic germ cell maturation might be associated with an up-regulation of Fas gene expression capable of triggering apoptotic elimination of defective germ cells.