Table 3.
Stereological evaluation of donor testes and testis xenografts of the 6-N-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU) experiment.
| Parameter | Donor | 5-Month xenografts | 7-Month xenografts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
||||
| Control | PTU | Control | PTU | ||
| Tubular compartment (%) | 55.6±2.2A | 76.3±2.1B | 63.3±6.2A | 75.1±3.1B | 74.3±2.2B |
| Seminiferous epithelium (%) | 34.5±2.1A | 44.9±3.1A,B | 43.2±5.1A,B | 40.3±3.3A,B | 51.2±3.3B |
| Tunica propia (%) | 21.1±0.6A | 12.2±0.6B | 11.1±0.9B | 10.9±0.5B | 11.7±0.7B |
| Seminiferous tubule lumen (%) | – | 19.2±3.1A | 9.0±2.0B | 23.9±4.2A | 11.4±1.2B |
| Sertoli cell number (×106)a | 0.98±0.03A | 5.3±0.4B | 3.2±0.2C | 6.5±0.1D | 3.5±0.1C |
| Sertoli cell volume (μm3) | 104.9±3.0A | 440.3±19.2B | 341.2±14.1C | 504.2±6.3D | 388.0±18.2E |
| Seminiferous cord or tubule length (cm)a | 32.1±2.0A | 209.9±20.1B | 120.2±10.1C | 170.4±30.3B | 110.2±29.9C |
| Intertubular compartment (%) | 44.4±2.2A | 23.7±2.1B | 36.7±6.2A | 24.9±3.1B | 25.7±2.2B |
| Leydig cell (%) | 1.9±0.2 | 2.7±0.3 | 3.4±0.4 | 2.7±0.5 | 2.1±0.4 |
| Connective tissue (%) | 41.6±1.9A | 20.6±2.1B | 27.4±5.2B | 21.7±3.1B | 22.9±2.1B |
| Blood vessels (%) | 0.8±0.1A | 0.3±0.03B | 0.4±0.04B | 0.4±0.05B | 0.3±0.03B |
| Leydig cell number (×106)a | 0.2±0.02A | 1.3±0.1B | 1.0±0.1B | 1.5±0.2B | 0.9±0.1B |
| Leydig cell volume (μm3) | 111.2±5.3A | 799.3±33.9B | 576.6±19.3C | 895.2±56.1D | 557.2±16.9C |
For each parameter, values represent the percentage (mean±S.E.M.). Different letters between columns denote statistical difference (P<0.05).
a
In donors, values are total numbers in the original pieces of tissue used for transplantation.