| Abstract: | Sertoli cells of lizards are characterized by variable size, abundant smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum, multivesicular bodies, lipid vacuoles probably related to the spermatogenic cycle, and mitochondria of normal size. The cytoskeleton contains actin, particularly abundant in the cell periphery, vimentin all around the nucleus and throughout the rest of the cytoplasm. Moreover, microtubules are distributed in the cell periphery. The junctional complexes demonstrate the presence of a very efficient blood-testis barrier, containing tight, gap, tight-gap, septate-like, desmosome-like, and "Sertoli-Sertoli" junctions. In the last, the actin layer interposed between the plasma membrane and the subsurface cistern is absent. The desmosome-like junctions are surrounded by 7-nm filaments and not by intermediate filaments. |
