Itoh M, Xie Q, Miyamoto K, Takeuchi Y
Department of Anatomy, Kagawa Medical University, Japan.
Int J Androl. 1999 Oct;22(5):316-23. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2605.1999.00186.x.
A spermatic granuloma is a chronic inflammatory lesion which surrounds extravasated spermatozoa. Clinically, the lesion develops in the interstitial spaces of the epididymis and vas deferens, and only exceptionally in the testis itself. In the present study, murine testes and epididymides were injured using a needle and the histological appearances of these organs was then compared. Traumatic injury induced extravasation of germ cells in both testes and epididymides. A few days later, spermatic granulomas consistently formed in the epididymides, however, such lesions were not induced in the testes. To examine the possibility that epididymal spermatozoa have inherently greater ability to form spermatic granulomas than do testicular germ cells, isolated epididymal spermatozoa or testicular germ cells were locally injected into the testes and epididymides of recipient mice. Spermatic granulomas readily formed in the epididymides after local injection of either epididymal spermatozoa or testicular germ cells. In contrast, such lesions did not form in the testes even when epididymal spermatozoa were injected. Therefore, this study suggests that the microenvironment of the testicular interstitium, rather than the extravasated components from the ruptured seminiferous tubules, is the main factor determining the limited formation of spermatic granulomas in the testis.
精子肉芽肿是一种围绕外渗精子的慢性炎性病变。临床上，该病变发生于附睾和输精管的间质间隙，仅在极少数情况下发生于睾丸本身。在本研究中，用针刺伤小鼠睾丸和附睾，然后比较这些器官的组织学表现。创伤性损伤导致睾丸和附睾中生殖细胞外渗。几天后，附睾中持续形成精子肉芽肿，然而，睾丸中未诱导出此类病变。为了研究附睾精子比睾丸生殖细胞具有更强的形成精子肉芽肿能力的可能性，将分离的附睾精子或睾丸生殖细胞局部注射到受体小鼠的睾丸和附睾中。局部注射附睾精子或睾丸生殖细胞后，附睾中很容易形成精子肉芽肿。相反，即使注射附睾精子，睾丸中也不会形成此类病变。因此，本研究表明，睾丸间质的微环境而非来自破裂生精小管的外渗成分是决定睾丸中精子肉芽肿形成受限的主要因素。
