Cellular relationship impairment in maturation arrest of human spermatogenesis: an ultrastructural study.

Ultrastructural examination of testicular biopsies from cases of maturation arrest showed that there were characteristic abnormalities of the Sertoli cell junctional connections. These abnormalities together with the meiotic failure afford an explanation for the severe oligospermia or azoospermia noted in patients with maturation arrest. Premature setting up of ectoplasmic specializations in front of early spermatids and/or spermatocytes were also observed.