Evolution of the endoplasmic reticulum in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm encapsulating the heads of late spermatids in the rat

Abstract

Throught stage VII and early stage VIII of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium, the heads of the late spermatids, located in a juxtaluminal position, are embedded in apical processes of Sertoli cells. These processes contain cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of two main types, i.e., flattened and tubular, which communicate with each other to form a continuous system. Throughout the long stage VII of the cycle, these two types of cisternae undergo marked changes. In early stage VII, the flattened cisternae, developing from the subsurface cisternae which compose the "junctional specialization," form concentric sheets at the periphery and in the middle of each apical process. The less conspicuous tubular cisternae form a continuous network which is present in the bridge connecting the Sertoli cell body to the apical process, and extends along the dorsal and ventral aspects of the spermatid's head to end up as cup-shaped flattened cisternae capping the bulbs of the tubulobulbar complexes described by Russell and Clermont ('76). In mid stage VII, the flattened cisternae start to regress, while the tubular cisternae become more abundant. In late stage VII, only fragments of the flattened cisternae are present, while the tubular cisternae form a profuse and elaborate network throughout the apical process. In the following stage VIII, the tubular cisternae disperse and only remnants of ER are present at the time of the release of the spermatid into the tubular lumen. These transformations of ER cisternae suggest a complex alteration in the relationship between Sertoli cells and late spermatids prior to their release as spermatozoa.