Distinct argyrophilic cytoplasmic organelles revealed during mouse spermiogenesis

Abstract

An electron microscopic Ag-staining method was used to study the argyrophilia of specific cytoplasmic organelles that appear during mouse spermiogenesis. The microtubuli of the centrioles are surrounded by a thin layer of argyrophilic material that also surrounds the microtubuli of their derivatives, e.g., the centriolar adjunct, the axoneme, and some structures of the connecting piece. As the mantle, i.e., the junctional complex between Sertoli cell and spermatid, develops, the involved regions of its plasma membranes are covered with silver precipitates. The apical portion of the nuclear ring as well as that of the perforatorium show clear argyrophilia. Besides these structures, a number of ring-shaped and spheroidal bodies at various sites in the cell also are decorated with silver precipitates. Most of these argyrophilic structures show a positive reaction with the EDTA method, too, suggesting that they contain ribonucleoprotein and might be of nucleolar origin. Since, furthermore, most of these structures are known to contain distinct cytoskeletal proteins, it is assumed that the staining reaction might be caused by proteins that are associated with the genuine cytoskeletal proteins.