The differential role of Leydig cells in the skin and gills of Lissotriton italicus larvae.

ABSTRACT: Larval urodeles are provided with external gills involved, along with the skin, in gas exchange and osmoregulation. Gills and skin epithelia are different, each showing a peculiar set of specialized cells but both provided with Leydig cells (LCs). Information on LCs in the gills is lacking as the literature has focused primarily on the epidermis. Contradictory and fragmentary results highlight that LCs origin, fate, and functions remain not fully understood. Here, we investigated the morpho-functional differences of LCs in the skin and gills of Lissotriton italicus larvae for the first time. LCs showed the same morphological and ultrastructural features in both tissues, even if LCs were significantly larger in the epidermis. Despite the uniform morphology within the LCs population, the pro

SUBMITTER: Brunelli E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9304190 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature