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Ultrastructure of the oviductal mucosa of Leptodactylus chaquensis. Analysis of the preovulatory and postovulatory periods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2014

Marcela Fátima Medina ,
Inés Ramos ,
Claudia A. Crespo ,
Susana Cisint ,
Lucrecia Iruzubieta Villagra  and
Silvia Nélida Fernández
Marcela Fátima Medina
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina.
Inés Ramos
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO)-UNT, Chacabuco 461, Tucumán 4,000, Argentina.
Claudia A. Crespo
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina.
Susana Cisint
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina.
Lucrecia Iruzubieta Villagra
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología. Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina.
Silvia Nélida Fernández*
Affiliation:
Chacabuco 461, 4000 – S.M. de Tucumán, Argentina. Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO)-UNT, Chacabuco 461, Tucumán 4,000, Argentina.
*
All correspondence to: Silvia N. Fernández. Chacabuco 461, 4000 – S.M. de Tucumán, Argentina. Fax: +54 381 4248025. e-mail: sfernandez@fbqf.unt.edu.ar
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Summary

In the present study we analysed the ultrastructural characteristics of the oviductal mucosa of Leptodactylus chaquensis during the preovulatory period and immediately after ovulation. Epithelial secretory cells, ciliated cells, basal cells and glandular secretory cells are described. During the preovulatory period, the oviduct exhibits its maximum degree of development at both the epithelial and the glandular levels, with numerous secretory cells that contain a large number of secretory granules whose contents are released into the oviductal lumen by apocrine and exocytotic secretory processes. The secretory cells present throughout the oviduct display considerable variability in the characteristics of their secretory granules, which show different shapes, sizes, organization of the material contained and electron density. The different cell types are distributed following a characteristic pattern for each oviductal zone, thus creating an ultrastructural mosaic along the oviduct. During the postovulatory period, the number of secretory cells decreases and the remaining ones exhibit a marked reduction in secretory granules. Ciliated cells show a typical ultrastructural organization that is not modified throughout the reproductive cycle. Basal cells, located at the basal region of the epithelium, are characterized by their heterochromatic nuclei and electron-lucent cytoplasm, while glandular secretory cells exhibit oval, round or polyhedric granules, most of them with a prominent core. Our results, which indicate a high heterogeneity of secretory cell contents, allow us to suggest differential synthesis and secretion of specific products in each oviductal zone.

Keywords

AmphibianLeptodactylus chaquensisOviduct; Reproductive cycleUltrastructure
Type
Research Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 635 - 643
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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