Stomach of Aplysia depilans (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia): a histochemical, ultrastructural, and cytochemical study.

Abstract

We report the results of a morphological, histochemical, and cytochemical characterization of the Aplysia depilans stomach, an organ little studied in opisthobranchs. Very thin ciliated cells with microvilli on their apical surfaces are predominant in the epithelium lining the lumen of the stomach. Many lysosomes with a strong arylsulphatase activity were present in the apical regions of these cells that could also contain some lipid droplets and glycogen. Small peroxisomes were observed, usually around lipid droplets or mitochondria. Bottle-shaped secretory cells are very common in this epithelium and produce a secretion rich in proteins and acidic mucopolysaccharides. Most of the cytoplasm of these mucus-producing cells was filled with a very high number of granules and the nucleus is dislocated to the basal region. Cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum were abundant around the nucleus and several Golgi stacks were also present in this area. In spite of the variation in the electron density of the granules, only one type of secretory cell seems to be present in the stomach epithelium, since granules with very different electron densities were frequently found in the same cell. A few neurons were also found in the stomach epithelium of this species. Fibrocytes, muscle cells, nerves, and amebocytes were observed in the connective tissue of the stomach wall.