MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 64:302–320 (2003) Increase in Macrophages in the Testis of Cathepsin A Deficient Mice Suggests an Important Role for These Cells in the Interstitial Space of This Tissue

ABSTRACT Cathepsin A (PPCA) is a lysoso-mal carboxypeptidase that functions as a protective protein for a-neuraminidase and b-galactosidase in a multienzyme complex. In the present study, the testes of PPCA/mice from 2 to 10 months of age were compared with those of their wild type counterparts. While germ and Sertoli cells appeared comparable in appearance and distribution, the mean profile area of seminiferous tubules showed a significant decrease between wild type and PPCA/mice, suggesting changes to the seminiferous tubules and their contents. In addition, macrophages in the interstitial space (IS) of PPCA/mice were large, spherical, and filled with pale lysosomes, unlike those seen in wild type mice, and a quantitative analysis of their frequency per uni