A network of spectrin and plectin surrounds the actin cuffs of apical tubulobulbar complexes in the rat.

ABSTRACT: Tubulobulbar complexes (TBCs) are actin-related endocytic structures that internalize intercellular junctions in the seminiferous epithelium. The structures consist of elongate tubular projections of the attached plasma membranes of two adjacent cells that project into Sertoli cells. This double membrane core is cuffed by a dentritic actin network and is capped at its end by a clathrin-coated pit. Here we explore the possibility that elements of the spectrin cytoskeleton are associated with clusters of tubulobulbar complexes that develop at adhesion junctions between late spermatids and Sertoli cells at the apex of the epithelium, and extend what is known about the distribution of plectin at the sites. Cryo-sections of perfusion-fixed testes and apical processes of Sertoli cells mechanical

SUBMITTER: Aristaeus de Asis M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3861171 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature