DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC-ACID FLOW-CYTOMETRY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF SPERMATOGENESIS

Purpose: We compared deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) flow cytometric analy sis of testicular tissue to quantitative assessment of spermatogenesis . Materials and Methods: We studied 35 infertile men with azoospermia or oligospermia. All patients underwent incisional testicular biopsies . DNA flow cytometric analysis was performed on each specimen to evalu ate the ability of the method to quantify alterations in spermatogenes is. The results were compared to quantitative histological examination . At least 100 spermatic tubules were examined on each specimen and th e number of spermatids per tubule was counted. All histological specim ens were examined by the same pathologist. Results: Of the 35 specimen s analyzed with DNA flow cytometry 5 were normal, while the percentage of haploid cells (spermatids and spermatozoa) was decreased (hyposper matogenesis) in 14, complete maturation arrest was noted in 2 and almo st complete absence of haploid cells was found in 14. Comparing the fi ndings on histological examination with histograms, excellent correlat ion was noted in cases of the Sertoli-cell-only syndrome and complete maturation arrest, while 3 of 14 histograms with hypospermatogenesis d emonstrated normal spermatogenesis on histological examination. Additi onally 1 of 5 histograms with normal spermatogenesis demonstrated hypo spermatogenesis on histological examination. Conclusions: DNA flow cyt ometry of the testicular tissue seems to be an objective and quantifie d method that can be used to investigate spermatogenesis in infertile men. It is also less time-consuming than any histological examination, permits management decisions within 1.5 hours after biopsy and may re place testicular histopathological study. Flow cytometric diagnoses co rrelated well with histopathological findings.