Intermitochondrial junctions in a subpopulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy subjects.

This paper reports the observation of intermitochondrial junctions (IMJ) with a periodicity of 15.4 +/- 0.65 nm in peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy subjects. The percentage of IMJ-containing cells appears constant (about 10% of examined lymphocytes) and is independent of the delay of fixation. Immunogold staining reveals that lymphocytes with IMJ exhibit a T-phenotype. IMJ have been reported in other types of tissues but, to our knowledge, have not been previously described in the blood cell. The signification of these structures is discussed.