ABSTRACT
Sixty-nine specimens from Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook.f. (TWH) users were investigated by electron microscopy. No macrophages were demonstrated in the 21 specimens collected prior to the administration of TWH. However, it was found in 23 out of the 48 semen specimens obtained following the TWH administration. The macrophages were functionally active as shown by the presence of a large number of cytoplasmic processes and pseudopodia on the surface, and primary and secondary lysosomes in the cytoplasm. The macrophages phagocytized sperm debris and degenerated or dead spermatids with formation of specific phagosomes. Around those macrophages, lymphocytes were commonly noted. The cytoplasmic processes of the two cell types could come into contact or even fuse with each other, leading to tight junction-like structure; in some of the contacts, the plasma membranes were found dissolved so as to form direct cytoplasmic linkage.
Subject(s)
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology , Immunosuppressive Agents/pharmacology , Lymphocytes/ultrastructure , Macrophages/ultrastructure , Semen/drug effects , Adolescent , Adult , Cell Communication/drug effects , Cell Fusion/drug effects , Herb-Drug Interactions , Humans , Male , Microscopy, Electron , Phagocytosis , Semen/cytology , TripterygiumABSTRACT
PIP: Insertion of an IUD into the uterine cavity could result in an obvious increase in endometrial microcirculation blood volume. The endometrial capillary configuration is a scattered, loose, and irregular capillary network. 8-10 months after IUD insertion in the uterine cavity, remarkable hyperplasia of the capillary and enlargement of the vessel diameter were observed in the IUD area. In the IUD depressed area, the capillaries had obviously increased and come together irregularly with various vessel diameters in the form of bead strings. The diameter of the vessels around most glandular opening enlarged and the capillaries clustered together to form a spherical capillary plexus. The end of the vessel dilated like a small sphere to form a microvascular bell. The more seriously depressed capillary became thinner, atrophied, and even cracked. Then, the newborn capillary trending along the IUD appeared. (author's modified)^ieng
