Macrophages and Leydig Cells in Testicular Biopsies of Azoospermic Men
Figure 2
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of testicular macrophages in the control biopsy ((a), (b)) and in the case of NOA ((c) and (d)). (a) Macrophage with indented nucleus (N) is facing the neighbouring Leydig cell (Ley). Perinuclear region bears a well-developed Golgi apparatus (G). Several mitochondria (m) are found in the vicinity of the apparatus. Within another part of the cytoplasm, secondary lysosomes (s) are visible. The framed area is shown in (b). (b) The cytoplasm of the macrophage opposing Leydig cell (Ley) is rich in secondary lysosomes (s) and lipofuscin bodies (lp). Endocytic vacuole (ev) is in a process of a fusion with one secondary lysosome (N, nucleus; m, mitochondrion; rer, rough endoplasmic reticulum). (c) A macrophage from NOA case. A part of the nucleus (N) is visible, surrounded by an organelle-rich cytoplasm that bears a lot of primary (p) and secondary (s) lysosomes. Numerous lipofuscin bodies and phagosomes (lp) demonstrate intensive phagocytic activity of the cell (m, mitochondria; E, cellular extension; framed area represented in (d)). (d) Between secondary lysosomes (s) and lipofuscin bodies (lp) some scattered cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum (rer) and mitochondria (m) could be noted (TEM, original magnification ×7.000/(a), (c)/, ×12.000/(b), (d)/; scale bar = 1 μm).
