Hiroshige Tasuku, Uemura Kei-Ichiro, Hirashima Shingo, Hino Kiyosato, Togo Akinobu, Ohta Keisuke, Igawa Tsukasa, Nakamura Kei-Ichiro
Division of Microscopic and Developmental Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan; Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan.
Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan.
Acta Histochem. 2021 Sep;123(6):151761. doi: 10.1016/j.acthis.2021.151761. Epub 2021 Jul 20.
Smooth muscle contraction of the epididymis plays an important role in sperm transport. Although PDGFRα-positive interstitial cells (PDGFRα (+) ICs) are thought to be involved in controlling smooth muscle movement via intercellular signaling, they have not yet been reported to date in the epididymis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the morphological characteristics of PDGFRα (+) ICs in the interstitial space of the murine epididymis. Immunohistochemistry showed that PDGFRα (+) ICs co-labeled with CD34 (PDGFRα (+) CD34 (+) ICs were distributed in the interstitial space of the murine epididymis from the initial segment (IS) to the cauda of the epididymis. PDGFRα (+) ICs that were not co-labeled with CD34 (PDGFRα (+) CD34 (-) ICs) were observed just beneath the epithelium from the corpus to the cauda but not in the IS. Both types of PDGFRα (+) ICs were in close proximity to each other as well as the surrounding nerves and macrophages. In addition, PDGFRα (+) CD34 (-) ICs beneath the epithelium were also in close proximity to the basal cells. Using transmission electron microscopy, we identified ICs that possessed elongated and woven cellular processes and were in close proximity to each other, surrounding the cells in the interstitial space. In the murine epididymis, it is suggested that there are two subtypes of ICs that show different distribution patterns depending on the segment, which may reflect segmental differences in mechanisms of sperm transport, forming a cellular network by physical interactions in the murine epididymis.
附睾的平滑肌收缩在精子运输中起重要作用。尽管血小板衍生生长因子受体α阳性间质细胞（PDGFRα(+) ICs）被认为通过细胞间信号传导参与控制平滑肌运动，但迄今为止在附睾中尚未见相关报道。因此，我们旨在研究小鼠附睾间质空间中PDGFRα(+) ICs的形态特征。免疫组织化学显示，与CD34共标记的PDGFRα(+) ICs（PDGFRα(+) CD34(+) ICs）分布于小鼠附睾从起始段（IS）到附睾尾的间质空间。未与CD34共标记的PDGFRα(+) ICs（PDGFRα(+) CD34( -) ICs）在附睾体到附睾尾的上皮下方可见，但在起始段未见。这两种类型的PDGFRα(+) ICs彼此以及与周围神经和巨噬细胞紧密相邻。此外，上皮下方的PDGFRα(+) CD34( -) ICs也与基底细胞紧密相邻。使用透射电子显微镜，我们鉴定出具有细长且交织的细胞突起且彼此紧密相邻、围绕间质空间中的细胞的ICs。在小鼠附睾中，提示存在两种ICs亚型，它们根据节段显示出不同的分布模式，这可能反映了精子运输机制的节段差异，通过在小鼠附睾中的物理相互作用形成细胞网络。
