Ultrastructural characteristics of blood cells of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta).

Ultrastructural characteristics of erythrocytes, heterophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, monocytes and thrombocytes of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) were evaluated, using blood samples from 15 healthy juvenile animals. Except for the eosinophils, the rest of the white blood cells from loggerhead turtles had similar ultrastructural characteristics compared with blood cells from other sea turtle species. Eosinophils from loggerhead turtles were homogeneous in size, and no crystalline structures were observed within the granules. This paper provides an ultrastructural characterization of blood cells of loggerhead sea turtles, as a reference for future haematological studies of this species.

Different frequency of cilia with transposition in human nasal and bronchial mucosa. A case of acquired ciliary dyskinesia.

Nasal and bronchial cilia and spermatozoa of a patient with a high clinical suspicion of a ciliary dyskinesia syndrome were ultrastructurally studied and quantified. Defective cilia showed two types of axonemal patterns: 9d+0s and 8d+1d. Of these, 9d+0s cilia prevailed in the proximal region, whereas 8d+1d prevailed in the distal region. Translocation of a peripheral doublet to the central position occurred at the middle region of cilia lacking the central pair, probably to compensate for its absence. Quantitative analysis showed that the percentages of anomalous cilia were 5.32+/-0.93 in nasal samples and 43.17+/-2.34 in bronchial samples. Spermatozoa without the central pair or with a translocated microtubular doublet were rarely observed, but a variety of nonspecific defects were seen. Even though transposition is generally considered to be an inherited ciliary defect and one of the causes of primary ciliary dyskinesia, in this case quantitative ultrastructural analysis and clinical data indicate that this is an acquired ciliary defect.

Absence of central microtubules and transposition in the ciliary apparatus of three siblings.

We studied the cases of three siblings with a history of chronic bronchitis and infertility. The electron-microscopic investigation of the tracheal and bronchial biopsies showed a ciliary defect consisting in the absence of the central microtubules and the transposition of a peripheral doublet. This is a rare and infrequently reported abnormality included in the primary ciliary diskinesia syndrome.

An helicoidal structure surrounding the cilium axoneme: visualization by the monoclonal antibody CC-248.

Monoclonal antibody CC-248 labels cilia differentially on Triton X-100 permeabilized ciliated epithelium of quail oviduct by indirect immunofluorescence. On isolated ciliated cells, a punctuated staining is seen at the distal region over the bend of cilia. Electron micrographs of immunoperoxidase and immunogold techniques showed that the punctuated fluorescence corresponds to a helical disposition of CC-248 antigenic sites. This labeling was arranged on the axonemal distal region either as a simple or a double helix externally disposed around the nine microtubular doublets. These results suggest the existence of a detergent insoluble structure in the ciliary matrix that might concern the ciliary skeleton, probably acting as an elastic recoil that keeps the structural integrity of the axoneme during bending. The cross-reactivity of CC-248 MAb with the intermediate filament cytoskeleton of ciliated and smooth muscle cells indicates that this structure might be related to the intermediate filament family.

Organization and functions of cytoskeleton in metazoan ciliated cells.

Ciliated cells are characterized by a highly organized cytoskeleton which is connected with the ciliary apparatus. The organization of microtubules, microfilaments, and cytokeratin filaments is described and the relationships of each network with the ciliary apparatus are emphasized. Possible functions of such a complex cytoskeleton are discussed.