Panopto 35: Male Reproductive Flashcards
Are germ cells underneath the Sertoli cell membrane?
no they are never engulfed by the sertoli cells
What happens when you have 2 Sertoli cells together?
formation of a barrier that is dependent upon
1. cell processes of the adjacent sertoli cells overlap
2. overlap isolates spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes from later stages
what is a junctional complex (JC)
the barrier made by the Sertoli cells, definition: group of intercellular junctions that form a collective unit; one of these is a tight junction (zonula occluden)
what is underneath the junctional complex?
spermatagoina and primary spermatocytes
What is above the junctional complex?
primary spermatocytes and all later stages
what is another word for tight junction?
zonula occluden
Can this unique junctional complex be found anywhere else?
no only in the male reproductive system
what is a tight junction?
The cell membranes of the 2 cells fuse; the fusion is not uniform; it occurs in lines.
the more lines of fusion a tight junction has…
the more effective the tight junction will be
why are cells binding together?
eliminates the intercellular space to prevent things in the lumen from passing between cells and getting down to the epithelium and the basement membrane. (removes the passageway between cells)
How many parallel lines of fusion exist in the male reproductive system? Why do we need that many?
50+
what is found in the cytoplasm above the fused cell membranes?
we have flattened stacks of endoplasmic reticulum and actin filaments
how are the actin filaments arranged?
bundles of actin that overlap in a hexagonal arrangement
Where are these bundles of actin filaments positioned between?
positioned between the stacks of endoplasmic reticulum and then a fuzed cell membrane on the other side. (the actin filaments are sandwiched in between.)
function of JC?
adhesion device it glues the cells together and it acts a physiological barrier (prevents the passage of blood borne substances) Blood is not in the sertoli cells, but blood does pass by in the testis. Antibodies and other immune system stuff can’t pass through because they are too large, but smaller waste products can be exchanged through this barrier. Spermatocytes can also pass through even though they are large we dont know how this happens without compromising the barrier
