Manchette Microtubules of Mouse Spermatids and their Resistance to Pepsin Digestion

Abstract

The manchette is a transitory microtubular complex associated with a spermatid nucleus during the morphopoietic events of spermiogenesis. Behnke and Forer provided evidence for four classes of microtubules (mts) in crane fly spermatids, rat sperm tails and tracheal cilia. Their observations also included the Sertoli cell and spermatid tail mts in rat testis, but they failed to mention the manchette mts. This present paper points out the distinct difference in stability or resistance to pepsin digestion between the manchette mts and other microtubular elements in the seminiferous epithelium of the mouse.Testes of adult mice were removed from the’ animals after cervical dislocation and placed into 2.5% glutaraldehyde/Millonig's phosphate buffer (pH 7.2). Testicular capsules were gently split and separated, thus exposing the tubules. After 15 min.