Fine structure of the central brain in the octopod Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck, 1798) (Mollusca-Octopoda).

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the fine structure of the different cell types in the central brain of Eledone cirrhosa; the organelles in the neurons and the glial cells; the glial hemolymph-brain barrier; the neuro-secretions and the relationships between glial and nerve cells. The brain is surrounded by a non-cellular neurilemma followed by a single layer of perilemmal cells. Ependymal cells, highly prismatic glial cells, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and epithelial processes were observed. The perikarya of the neurons are filled with slightly oval nuclei with heterochromatin, a strongly tortuous ER, numerous mitochondria and Golgi apparatus with two types of vesicles. In the cellular cortex, glial cells are much less numerous than the neurons and they are located preferably at the border between perikarya and neuropil. Furthermore, they send many branching shoots between the surrounding neuron perikarya and the axons. The glial cytoplasmic matrix appears more electrodense than that of the neurons. Only few ribosomes are attached to the membranes of the ER; the vast majorities are free. In the perikarya of the glial cells, mitochondria, multi-vesicular bodies, various vacuoles and vesicles are present. The essential elements of the hemolymph-brain barrier are the endothelial cells with their tight junctions. The cytoplasm contains various vesicles and mitochondria. However, two other cell types are present, the pericytes and the astrocytes, which are of great importance for the function of the hemolymph-brain barrier. The cell-cell interactions between endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes are as close as no other cells.