Phase-contrast and electron-microscopic observations on a membranous complex in primary spermatocytes of the mouse

Abstract

A prominent cytoplasmic inclusion present in living mouse primary spermatocytes has been observed by both light and electron microscopy. It began to form at prometaphase and continued to increase in thickness and length as the cells developed. By metaphase it was a distinct sausage-shaped boundary that enclosed a portion of the cytoplasm between the spindle and the cell membrane. At the end of metaphase, the inclusion reached its maximum length. At telophase, it was divided between the daughter secondaries. The inclusion persisted as a circular contour in the interphase secondary spermatocyte. Electron microscopy of the same cultured cells that were previously observed with light microscopy revealed that the inclusion was a distinctive formation of membranes. It consisted of agranular cisternae and vesicles, and was therefore a membranous complex. Many of the smaller vesicles in the membranous complex resembled those found in the spindle. The cisternae in the membranous complex were identical to the cisternal endoplasmic reticulum of interphase primary spermatocytes. Nevertheless, the organization of vesicles and cisternae into the membranous complex was unique for the primaries in division stages, since such an organization was not present in their interphase stages.