Jahnukainen K, Saari T, Salmi T T, Pöllänen P, Pelliniemi L J
Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Finland.
Leukemia. 1995 May;9(5):908-14.
The testis is the third common site of relapse in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Despite the apparent clinical importance of testicular relapse, its pathogenesis is still unknown. The studies with an animal model of ALL have shown that many testicular factors are able to control the intratesticular infiltration and proliferation of leukemic lymphoblasts during the untreated course of ALL. In the present study, the ultrastructure of rat testicular interstitium infiltrated by leukemic lymphoblasts was studied in two groups of rats transplanted with rat T cell leukemia in early and late puberty. In both groups most of the leukemic cells infiltrating testicular interstitium were totally or partly enveloped by one or more Leydig cells, and the endothelial cells of capillaries, arterioles and venules were hypertrophic. The Leydig cells of the younger experimental group were by nuclear and cytoplasmic ultrastructure similar to the undifferentiated Leydig cells normally seen on the third postnatal week. The results suggest that Leydig cells bind leukemic lymphoblasts on their surface in vivo as also previously observed in vitro, and that ALL may disturb the pubertal maturation of Leydig cells. The occlusion of arterial and capillary lumina by folds of hypertrophic endothelial cells together with adhered leukemic lymphoblasts may impair the circulation of leukemic testes.
睾丸是儿童急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）中第三个常见的复发部位。尽管睾丸复发在临床上具有明显的重要性，但其发病机制仍不清楚。对ALL动物模型的研究表明，在ALL未经治疗的过程中，许多睾丸因素能够控制白血病淋巴母细胞在睾丸内的浸润和增殖。在本研究中，对两组分别在青春期早期和晚期移植大鼠T细胞白血病的大鼠中，白血病淋巴母细胞浸润的大鼠睾丸间质的超微结构进行了研究。在两组中，浸润睾丸间质的大多数白血病细胞被一个或多个睾丸间质细胞完全或部分包裹，并且毛细血管、小动脉和小静脉的内皮细胞肥大。较年轻实验组的睾丸间质细胞在核和细胞质超微结构上类似于出生后第三周通常所见的未分化睾丸间质细胞。结果表明，睾丸间质细胞在体内将白血病淋巴母细胞结合在其表面，这与之前在体外观察到的情况相同，并且ALL可能会干扰睾丸间质细胞的青春期成熟。肥大的内皮细胞褶皱与粘附的白血病淋巴母细胞一起阻塞动脉和毛细血管腔可能会损害白血病睾丸的血液循环。
