STUDIES ON HUMAN TESTICULAR ORGAN CULTURE
1972 Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 519-538
Details
1972 Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 519-538
Testicular tissue obtained from twenty-three men by open biopsy, were cultured by Trowell's organ culture method.
The results are summarized as follows.
1) In the organ culture using TC-199 medium with 15% calf serum (32°C, 5% CO2 in air), seminiferous tubules were maintained even after fifty-six days.
2) Tubular fibrosis increased gradually in the course of culture.
3) Concerning with germinal cells, secondary spermatocytes and early spermatids began to degenerate after four day culture. And following them, late spermatids started to show necrotic changes after seven days. These cells almost disappeared after two week culture. Primary spermatocytes showed necrotic changes in seven day culture, but some of them were still alive in three week culture.
4) Spermatogonia have no change in number even after twenty-eight days in culture, but considerably decreased in fifty-six day culture. However, pale type A spermatogonia still survived in fifty-six day culture. Hypertrophic spermatogonia were observed after twenty-eight day culture.
These data indicate the unique characteristics of human spermatogonia.
5) Sertoli cells were alive in the tubules in fifty-six day culture without decrease in number.
6) Interstitial cells showed gradual fibroblast-like changes.
7) By radioautographic studies, it is certified that labeled resting spermatocytes could mature to pachytene spermatocytes after thirteen day culture at the same speed as in the normal in vivo condition. This finding means that human spermatogonia can differentiate into the pachytene stage even in the condition without gonadotropins.
8) In culture medium containing gonadotropins (FSH 1, 000μg/ml or HCG 1, 000IU/ml), immature Sertoli cells showed maturation after two week culture. Germinal cells, however, did not show any reaction to an addition of gonadotropins and testosterone into the culture medium. In mature testis, the addition rather stimulated the degeneration of germinal cells.
These deta revealed that certain other factors should be present with gonadotropins for maintaining and developing germinal cells in organ culture.
