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Ameboid cells in spermatogenic cysts of caecilian testis
Author(s) -
Smita Mathew,
Jancy M. George,
Akbarsha M.A.,
Oommen Oommen V.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.10310
Subject(s) - sertoli cell , biology , basal lamina , microbiology and biotechnology , blood–testis barrier , cytoplasm , epithelium , lumen (anatomy) , anatomy , spermatogenesis , ultrastructure , endocrinology , genetics
Sertoli cells constitute a permanent feature of the testis lobules in caecilians irrespective of the functional state of the testis. The developing germ cells are intimately associated with the Sertoli cells, which are adherent to the basal lamina, until spermiation. There are irregularly shaped cells in the cores of the testis lobules that interact with germ cells at the face opposite to their attachment with Sertoli cells. These irregularly shaped (ameboid) cells first appear in the lumen of the cysts containing primary spermatocytes and are continually present until spermiation. We did not observe any cytoplasmic continuity between a Sertoli cell and an ameboid cell. Both light microscopic and TEM observations reveal a phagocytic role for the ameboid cells: they scavenge the residual bodies shed by spermatozoa. Organization of the ameboid cells is grossly different from that of the spermatogenic and Sertoli cells. They appear to develop from the epithelium at the juncture of the collecting ductule with the testis lobule. J. Morphol. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.