Kerr J B, Knell C M, Irby D C
Anat Embryol (Berl). 1987;176(2):213-24. doi: 10.1007/BF00310054.
Sertoli cells of the juvenile and adult koala testis exhibit a unique morphology due to their large nuclei and in particular, a remarkable abundance of large cytoplasmic crystalloid inclusions. Numerous crystalloid subunits in immature Sertoli cells are aggregated into distinct clusters where by assembly and union, they form large slender crystalloids consisting of an ordered substructure of filaments and tubules. Adult Sertoli cells contain large numbers of basally-positioned crystalloids up to 60 micron in length and the observations suggest a possible mechanism for their growth from collections of tubules assembled together within membrane-bound inclusions. The trunk and adluminal cytoplasm of the adult Sertoli cell also contains crystalloids, usually single, positioned between germ cells or their excess residual cytoplasm. Following sperm release, crystalloids are not shed from the seminiferous epithelium but are retained within the apical Sertoli cell cytoplasm. Although their subsequent fate could not be determined crystalloids did not show evidence of breakdown or phagocytosis by the Sertoli cell, suggesting that they may be reutilized and possibly function to stabilize the association between Sertoli cell cytoplasm and the developing germ cells.
幼年和成年考拉睾丸的支持细胞呈现出独特的形态，这是由于它们的细胞核较大，特别是细胞质中大量存在大型晶体样内含物。未成熟支持细胞中的许多晶体亚基聚集形成不同的簇，通过组装和结合，形成由细丝和小管的有序亚结构组成的大型细长晶体。成年支持细胞含有大量基部定位的晶体，长度可达60微米，观察结果表明它们可能通过在膜结合内含物中组装在一起的小管集合生长。成年支持细胞的主干和近腔细胞质中也含有晶体，通常是单个的，位于生殖细胞或其多余的残余细胞质之间。精子释放后，晶体不会从生精上皮脱落，而是保留在支持细胞顶端的细胞质中。虽然无法确定它们随后的命运，但晶体没有显示出被支持细胞分解或吞噬的迹象，这表明它们可能被重新利用，并可能起到稳定支持细胞细胞质与发育中的生殖细胞之间联系的作用。
