Ultrastructural study of the coiled body and a new inclusion, the ?mykaryon?, in the nucleus of the adult rat sertoli cell

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Abstract
Random and serial thin sections of the nucleus in adult rat Sertoli cells were examined by electron microscopy. Besides the previously reported nucleoli and heterochromatin masses, the nuclei contain a coiled body and a new structure, the “mykaryon.” The coiled body is 835 nm in maximum diameter. It is composed of distinct elements referred to as “coils”. They are 32 nm wide on average and resemble the nucleolar pars fibrosa in their intense staining with heavy metal salts and their composition of narrow filaments. The coiled body is often close to a nucleolus, though no direct contact is established, and it sometimes exists at a distance from the nucleolus. The mykaryon is spherical, 460 nm in maximum diameter, and composed of a tridimensional network of 7–26 nm‐wide electron‐opaque “cords” separated by slighly thinner spaces. It has not been observed in the vicinity of a nucleolus. A literature survey showed no previous mention of a structure similar to the mykaryon. The coiled body and the mykaryon are interpreted as normal constituents of the Sertoli nucleus in the adult rat.