["Environment and fertility". A contribution to the sensitivity of male germ cells to environmental pollutants].

If "early cells of the germ line" or stem cells of a man or other male mammals are irreversibly damaged by noxious agents, such as ionizing rays, cytostatic drugs or others, you will find Sertoli-cells-only-syndrome. In contrast, the loss of differentiating spermatogonia, spermatocytes, or spermatids is a temporal phenomenon, as long as the systems of the somatic cells in the testis are intact. Irreversible damage of these cell systems, however - e.g. Leydig cell system and vascular system which are both situated in the extratubular compartment, the boundary tissue, or the Sertoli cells - results in permanent infertility just as in case of irreversible damage of cells of the "early germ line" or stem cells. On the other hand, a temporary damage of the somatic cell systems in the testis brought about by irritations of the extra- or intratesticular control systems may be neutralized by cure of the impairment. Mutations of the genetic matter caused by exogenous agents in the cells of the germ line are of limited importance to the fertility of the individual but have considerable significance for the genetic state of the population as a whole. Genetic damage of "early cells of the germ line" or stem cells is of higher consequence than negative alteration of the genome in cells belonging to the differentiating part of the germ line. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the genome is especially pronounced in spermatocytes and spermatids, the most advanced cells of the male germ line. The sensitivity of the cell (CS) and the sensitivity of the genome (GMS) frequently do not coincide.