Freeze-fracture study on the whorls of rough endoplasmic reticulum in the exocrine pancreatic cells of the Japanese newt and African clawed toad.

The whorls of rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) in the exocrine pancreatic cells of starved newts and clawed toads were examined by a freeze-fracture technique. The whorl appeared to be roughly ovoidal in shape and composed of tightly packed, narrow cisternae arranged like the layers of an onion. The clusters of interdigitating projections of the cisternal membranes were located at several places on the whorl. Some of these projections extended to the vesicular rER around the whorl. The fenestra-like, raised or hollowed craters were seldom seen on the fractured membrane faces of the whorls in the exocrine pancreatic cells of the starved newts.