Fluorescent bodies in the spermatozoa of patients with sterility.

In 1968, Caspersson et al. found that an intense fluorescence was emitted by the M-chromosome of vicia faba following the action of quinacrine mustard, an acridine series pigment. Zech (1969) applied this method to the fluorescent staining of human chromosomes; an especially intense fluorescence was observed at the end of the long arm of the Y-chromosome. Caspersson et al. (1970b, 1971)reported a detailed analysis of the fluorescence pattern of individual chromosomes. This method is currently indispensable in chromosomal analysis. Pearson et al. (1970) reported that in addition to Y-chromosomes emitting the most intense fluorescence among male chromosomes in metaphase, somatic cell nuclei in interphase were also revealed to show fluorescent bodies (F-body) in high frequency. Without chro mosomal analysis, it is therefore possible to examine the presence or absence of the Y-chromosome through the observations of smear specimens of peripheral blood, oral mucosa, or amnion cells. This provides a simple method of sex identification and detecting individuals with Y-chromosome abnormalities. Fluorescent staining of human spermatozoa was attempted for the first time by Barlow and Vosa in 1970 in order to study the frequency of appearance of F-body in human spermato zoa. However, there is no available information about the frequency of appearance of F-body in the spermatozoa of patients with sterility having no abnormality in chromosome construction. We have therefore studied the rate of appearance of F-body in patients with oligospermia andd compared it with that in normal subjects. The relationship between the sperm count and the rate of appearance of F-body was also studied in patients with oligospermia.