PROACROSIN AS A MARKER OF MEIOTIC AND POSTMEIOTIC GERM-CELL DIFFERENTIATION - QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN SPERMATOGENESIS WITH A MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY
D. Bermudez et al., PROACROSIN AS A MARKER OF MEIOTIC AND POSTMEIOTIC GERM-CELL DIFFERENTIATION - QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN SPERMATOGENESIS WITH A MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY, Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, 100(2), 1994, pp. 567-575
A quantitative immunohistochemical study of human spermatogenesis was
performed using the 4D4 anti-proacrosin monoclonal antibody (mAb 4D4)
as a marker of meiotic and post-meiotic germ cell differentiation. Cel
ls from 15 testicular biopsies with normal spermatogenesis, 18 with sl
ight and nine with marked hypospermatogenesis and six with maturation
arrest were assigned to spermatogenic stages according to both nuclear
maturation and proacrosin labelling patterns. The results showed that
four spermatogenesis steps (mid- and late-pachytene primary spermatoc
ytes, early and late spermatids) have to be separately considered for
the classification of a given biopsy. Conversely, data from primary sp
ermatocytes in the metaphase, anaphase and telophase stages and second
ary spermatocytes did not show significant differences between biopsie
s. We conclude that: (1) slight hypospermatogenesis is due only to few
er cells entering meiosis, whereas in marked hypospermatogenesis there
is also germ cell loss during the later meiotic steps and spermiogene
sis; (2) the sloughing of germ cells from the epithelium could be of p
athological significance; and (3) immunodetection with mAb 4D4 improve
s the assessment of spermatogenesis because it can label a protein exp
ressed as early as meiotic prophase. In addition, mAb 4D4 labels a pro
tein which is a marker of the Golgi complex allowing the detection of
disturbances of cytoplasmic events during meiosis or spermiogenesis. S
uch an analysis is facilitated by mAb 4D4 labelling of paraffin-embedd
ed sections.