Open AccessTelocytes in the Spleen
Author(s) -
Yung-Fu Chang,
Cixia Li,
Li Gan,
He Li,
Zhikun Guo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0138851
Subject(s) - spleen , ultrastructure , immunostaining , vimentin , biology , pathology , immunocytochemistry , cd34 , interstitial cell , anatomy , immunohistochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , stem cell , immunology
Telocytes, a novel type of interstitial cells with very long and thin prolongations, have been identified in many organs in mammals. At present, the ultrastructural, immunocytochemical and electrophysiological properties of telocytes in multiple organs have been understood. However, telocytes in spleen, especially their roles in spleen have not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the ultrastructure, distribution and immunophenotypes of splenic telocytes. Rat spleen was harvested for the ultrastructure analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The primary culture of telocytes was performed after combined enzymatic digestion. The characteristic morphology was analyzed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was shown that telocytes displayed a piriform/spindle/triangular shape with long and slender telopods and extremely long prolongation contracting with surrounding cells in the spleen. Their dynamic profiles of cytoplasmic separation were recorded by the Live Cell Imaging System. The length of telopods was mostly distributing in 20–30 μm, in accordance with normal distribution. Most telocytes had three or two telopods (28.71% and 22.58% respectively). Immunostaining indicated that these cells were positive for vimentin, CD34, nanog and sca-1, but negative for c-kit. These data prove the existence of telocytes in the spleen, which may serve as the experimental base for exploring their roles in the spleen.