Ultrastructural abnormalities in respiratory cilia and sperm tails in a patient with Kartagener's syndrome

Ultrastructural abnormalities of spermatozoa and respiratory cilia have been reported in a male patient with Kartagener's syndrome and infertility. In this patient both respiratory cilia and sperm tails showed defects in radial spokes and dynein arms. Such defects are heretofore undescribed in the same subject with immotile cilia syndrome. Absence of both inner and outer dynein arms and absence of the inner dynein arms only were detected in spermatozoa and in respiratory tract cilia, respectively. Moreover, total absence of axoneme was seen in several sperm tails from this patient. The possibility that the features described are of genetic origin is discussed.