Observations on the blood-testis barrier in a frog and a salamander

Abstract

A blood-testis barrier has been demonstrated in a frog, Rana esculenta, and in a salamander, Salamandra salamandra, using lanthanum as an electron-dense marker during fixation. The tracer penetrates the interstices between somatic follicle or Sertoli cells and germ cells in regions of the testis containing spermatogonia and spermatocytes, up to the level of punctate tight junctions. The latter can be localized between the somatic cells that line seminiferous units containing spermatids and mature spermatozoa. The barrier thus appears to be established after meiosis in both species investigated, although spermatids of different developmental stages can be found in open compartments of the testis in S. salamandra.