Sertoli-sertoli junctions and Sertoli-spermatid junctions after efferent ductule ligation and lanthanum treatment.

Seminiferous tubules, partially dilated by ligation of the efferent ductules, were examined after treatment with lanthanum. Lanthanum penetrated the intercellular spaces of the seminiferous epithelium, but only to the level of the Sertoli-Sertoli junctions. Further penetration from the interstitial surface of the tubule was restricted by membrane fusions (tight junctions) at the junctional complex. Lanthanum also penetrated the epithelium from the luminal surface permeating the adluminal intercellular spaces, including the site of the Sertoli-spermatid junction. The lanthanum occupying the Sertoli-spermatid junctional site appeared as a slightly narrower electron-opaque zone than that found in the non-specialized intercellular areas. The findings clearly reveal that only the Sertoli-Sertoli junctional site forms a restrictive barrier. In contrast to the specializations of plasma membrane which form the tight junction, the associated filaments and cisterna of endoplasmic reticulum may be components more directly related to maintaining and regulating cell adhesion.