Abstract
For histopathologic examination of the testis, it is necessary to classify the stage of spermatogenesis in seminiferous tubules (staging). Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stained sections are excellent for classiflying the stage because of distinct-stained acrosome in the round spermatid. HE stained sections are also suitable for brief classification of spermatogenesis into four groups (block). With both staining, however, evaluation of the sections is a difficult and time-consuming task even for well-trained workers. In this study, we applied the immunohistologic procedure using anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) monoclonal antibody for staging germ cells in seminiferous tubules, and examined whether it was useful for histopathological screening of the testis. Ten normal testes from 7-week-old Wistar rats were ased for the study. These Bouin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections were treated with PCNA stain, PAS stain, and HE stain, respectively. In PCNA stained sections, the stages of seminiferous germ cells could be clearly classified into four groups by lower magnification than the other stains, and these groups coincided with each of the “block” classified by HE stain. Adding this, we tried to estimate drug-induced testicular toxicity by PCNA stain with testes obtained from Wistar rats administrated intravenously with adriamycin 6mg/kg. The obstruction of DNA synthesis was distinctively detected as focal lack of PCNA reaction in the spermatogonias. These findings indicate that PCNA staining is useful for the evaluation of the testis assisting the rapid classification of spermatogenesis and immunohistological diagnosis of testicular toxicity with DNA obstructive drug.
