Mast cells in the testis, epididymis and accessory glands of the rat: effects of neonatal steroid treatment.

Mast cells in the testis of control adult rats were found almost exclusively around subcapsular blood vessels. Discrete mast cells were distributed throughout the stroma of the epididymis and sex accessory glands. In neonatally estrogen-treated rats, a greater number of mast cells was present in the testicular interstitium, whereas no significant increase in the number of mast cells per square millimeter of stroma was found for the epididymis and sex accessory glands, despite stromal proliferation. On the other hand, androgen-treated rats did not have increased mast cell numbers in any organ. These results indicate that the increase in mast cell numbers was estrogen-dependent, specifically related to the testis and did not seem to be a consequence of the increase in the connective interstitial tissue.