Testis and Testicular Adnexa Iczkowski, Kenneth A.; Ulbright, Thomas M.
Essentials of Anatomic Pathology
Book Chapter
This chapter begins with congenital and acquired anomalies of the testicle, infectious disease, and granulomas, and contains a section on decision making in biopsies done for infertility. The ...morphologic and immunohistochemical differential diagnosis of neoplasms of the testis is discussed. This section covers germ cell tumors, encompassing intratubular germ cell neoplasia, unclassified; seminoma, spermatocytic seminoma, and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors. Sex cord-stromal tumors and mixed germ cell – sex cord-stromal tumors are discussed. Finally, benign and malignant lesions of the epididymis, tunics, and spermatic cord are described.
Objective. Altered expression of the CD44 family of cell adhesion molecules has been associated with tumor progression and metastasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the ...gene products of CD44 standard (CD44s) and several alternatively spliced variants (CD44v4, v6, v7, and v9) in adenocarcinoma of the endocervix and to correlate the degree of their expression with disease progression.
Methods. Immunohistochemical staining for CD44s and CD44v4, v6, v7, and v9 was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded endocervical specimens. Seventeen cases of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and 22 cases of invasive adenocarcinoma of the endocervix were included in this study, and the immunoreactivity was compared with that of normal endocervical epithelium.
Results. (1) In the normal endocervical mucosa, immunoreactivity for CD44s and the splice variants was lacking or was confined to only the basal portion of the glandular epithelium along the basement membrane; (2) CD44s was diffusely expressed along the entire cytoplasmic membrane, including the luminal surface of the tumorous glands in 94% of AIS and 95% of invasive adenocarcinomas; (3) a significantly stronger expression of CD44s was observed in invasive adenocarcinomas than in AIS; (4) in contrast to all other splice variants, CD44v9 demonstrated an increased expression in nearly all in situ and invasive lesions compared to the normal tissue; (5) CD44v4 and v6 were expressed only in a small proportion of invasive adenocarcinomas and were near totally absent in the in situ lesions; and (6) CD44 v7 was totally absent in all normal, in situ, and invasive lesions studied.
Conclusions. It appears that neoplastic transformation of endocervical epithelium is associated with qualitative and quantitative changes in the expression of CD44 standard molecule and some CD44 splice variants.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Testes from rabbits aged 1-9 weeks were examined by light microscopy. Changes in seminiferous tubule dimensions, testicular volume, and volume fraction of tubules were assessed. Germ cells and ...Sertoli cells were counted in round tubular cross sections and total germ cell number in each testis was estimated. Mitotic, meiotic, and degenerative activities of germ cells as well as their basal or central positions within tubules were quantified. A marked, steady increase in testis volume and in tubular length and volume occurred over the prepubertal period; but diameter underwent no significant increase and in fact decreased until week 4. Overall, tubules lengthened 40-fold and testis volume increased 25-fold; the percentage volume of the testis occupied by tubules rose from one-third neonatally to three-fifths at the onset of spermatogenesis. The ratio of germ cells to total tubular (germ and Sertoli) cells was lowest at 3 weeks. However, the total number of germ cells increased little until 3 weeks, after which it rose at a sharp rate commensurate with testis volume. Percentage of germ cells in mitosis peaked sharply at 3 weeks, dropped in subsequent weeks, and then rose at 7 weeks at the initiation of spermatogenesis. Importantly, the surge in mitosis at 3 weeks was followed by a redistribution of germ cells to a predominantly basal location from 3 to 7 weeks. Meiotic activity was sparse at 7 weeks and became abundant by 9 weeks. Germ cell degeneration remained relatively constant during weeks 1 through 6, with an increase at 7 weeks.
