Autoimmune phenomena and cytogenetic findings in a patient with carcinoma (seminoma)in situ

Routine examination of a testis biopsy from a patient with oligospermia and a large varicocele in his left testicle and who was childless for over 2 years showed carcinoma in situ (CIS) with atypic spermatogonia in his right testicle. Immunohistochemical investigations of this tissue revealed large intracellular deposits of immunoglobulin G (IgG) restricted to the atypical cells. By blot-immunobinding test of the patient's serum, circulating antibodies against a molecule with an approximate molecular weight of 60 kD were found. Such antibodies were not found in a total of over 500 infertile patients and fertile controls examined. This molecule was extracted from pooled normal human sperms by trypsin digestion and eluted out of a sodium dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide gel (SDS-PAGE). This elute is currently used for raising monoclonal antibodies. An analysis of the direct chromosome preparations from the testis biopsy showed both numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations. This might indicate that the atypical cells have already been transformed and hence could be considered as malignant.