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Filaments and microtubules in the gonadotrophic cell of the lizard, Anolis carolinensis
Author(s) -
Forbes M. S.,
Dent J. N.
Publication year - 1974
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.1051430405
Subject(s) - anolis , microtubule , biology , intermediate filament , treadmilling , microfilament , cytoskeleton , biophysics , degranulation , elongation , lizard , protein filament , substructure , microbiology and biotechnology , anatomy , cell , zoology , biochemistry , materials science , receptor , ultimate tensile strength , metallurgy , structural engineering , engineering
Gonadotrophic cells in the pars distalis of Anolis carolinensis often contain juxtanuclear concentrations of filaments with diameters intermediate in size (approximately 100 Å) between microtubules and microfilaments. Their size and their substructure, which gives them a tubular appearance when they are displayed in cross‐section, appear to place these filaments in the “intermediate filament” category (Ishikawa et al., '68). In their juxtanuclear position in the intact animal, the intermediate filaments are collected in randomly‐oriented tangles. In castrated specimens of Anolis , gonadotrophs degranulate and elongate. During this elongation, increased numbers of microtubules appear in orientation parallel to the long axis of the cell, and the 100 Å filaments reassemble in rod‐like masses oriented parallel to the microtubules. This apparent distributional interaction may facilitate the elongation of the cell. Intimate physical associations between the intermediate filaments and secretory granules suggest that the filaments may act in the movement of the granules during the processes of degranulation and secretion.