ULTRASTRUCTURE OF TESTICULAR BIOPSY FROM AN XX MALE

Ultrastructural study of testicular biopsy specimens from an XX male showed hyalinized seminiferous tubules and tubules containing only mature Sertoli cells. These cells possessed large lipid inclusions as well as microfilament bundles which were perpendicular to the basement membrane and parallel to one another. The basal lamina was thickened and composed of several parallel layers with myofibroblast layers between them. The interstitium showed nodular to diffuse Leydig cell hyperplasia. Four types of Leydig cells were found: 1) normal Leydig cells with crystals of Reinke; 2) cells with abundant microcrystalline inclusions as well as microfilaments and concentric cisternae of smooth endoplasmic reticulum; 3) vacuolated cells containing numerous large lipid droplets; 4) immature Leydig cells. The different ultrastructural abnormalities found in the Sertoli and Leydig cells might be considered as the histological expression of a tubular-interstitial dysgenesis which is reflected in the high levels of gonadotropins and low levels of testosterone. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.