Electron Microscope Study on the Bat Testicular Interstitial Cell with Special Reference to the Cytoplasmic Crystalloid

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Abstract
The testicular interstitial cell of the bat, Myotis schreibersi (Temmink), was investigated by EM. The cytoplasm of Myotis interstitial cells is packed by numerous mitochondria with many electron dense small matrix granules, endoplasmic reticulum and variable numbers of osmiophilic lipid droplets. The Myotis interstitial cell is characterized by alternate development of SER [smooth endoplasmic reticulum] and RER [rough endoplasmic reticulum]. In some Leydig cells the major part of the cytoplasm is packed by tubular SER, but in others this apparently is replaced by abundant free ribosomes containing sparse cisternae of RER. These changes in the amounts of SER and RER are likely to be reversible and probably reflect functional alterations of Leydig cells of the bat, a hibernator. The Myotis interstitial cell possesses small cytoplasmic crystalloids composed of regularly oriented, compressed tubules, 20-28 m.mu. thick, which are continuous to the tubular SER (SER-derived crystalloids). Type I and type II crystalloids show, in suitable planes of section, honeycomb-like and fabri-like patterns, respectively. The Myotis Leydig cell extends cytoplasmic processes of irregular shape and long microvilli, the latter often conglomerating on the cell body or cytoplasmic processes. The entire surface of the cell including the processes is completely surrounded by a basal lamina.

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