On the Morphology of the Human Sertoli Cells under Normal Conditions and in Patients with Impaired Fertility*

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Abstract
Sertoli cells in testicular biopsies from 7 patients with Sertoli-cell only syndrome, 8 patients who had been treated with cyclophosphamide for testicular neoplasia, 8 patients with oligozoospermia, 7 patients with cryptorchidism, and 8 patients with seminoma were examined under the electron microscope and compared with Sertoli cells of normal tissues. The investigations reveal that each of these conditions of impaired fertility is characterized of a special type of Sertoli cell. The cell pattern is either restricted to one or two of the normally occurring cell types, or modified cells predominate that might be typical of the underlying disturbances of spermatogenesis. It is suggested that the cell type which prevails in the Sertoli-cell only syndrome is capable of maintaining a basic production of a substance that inhibits FSH secretion.Testicular biopsies were obtained from 7 men with Sertoli-cell-only syndrome, 8 patients with oligozoospermia, 7 patients with cryptorchidism, and 8 patients with seminoma to assess Sertoli Cell morphology and function in comparison with observations of normal human Sertoli cells. Each of these groups exhibited uniquely characteristic types of Sertoli cell. The cell pattern was either of 1 or 2 of the normally occurring cell types, or of predominate modified cells that may typify the nature of altered spermatogenesis. In Sertoli-cell-only syndrome, the resutls suggest a prevailing cell type that is capable of maintaining production of a substance that inhibits the secretion of follicle stimulating hormone.