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Three-Dimensional Analysis of Interstitial Cells in the Smooth Muscle Layer of Murine Vas Deferens Using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and FIB/SEM

Part of: Micrographia Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2022

Tasuku Hiroshige Open the ORCID record for Tasuku Hiroshige [Opens in a new window] ,
Kei-Ichiro Uemura ,
Shingo Hirashima ,
Kiyosato Hino ,
Akinobu Togo ,
Keisuke Ohta ,
Tsukasa Igawa  and
Kei-Ichiro Nakamura
Tasuku Hiroshige*
Affiliation:
Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan Division of Microscopic and Development Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Kei-Ichiro Uemura
Affiliation:
Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Shingo Hirashima
Affiliation:
Division of Microscopic and Development Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Kiyosato Hino
Affiliation:
Division of Microscopic and Development Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Akinobu Togo
Affiliation:
Advanced Imaging Research Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Keisuke Ohta
Affiliation:
Division of Microscopic and Development Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan Advanced Imaging Research Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Tsukasa Igawa
Affiliation:
Department of Urology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
Kei-Ichiro Nakamura
Affiliation:
Division of Microscopic and Development Anatomy, Department of Anatomy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan Cognitive and Molecular Research Institute of Brain Diseases, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
*
*Corresponding author: Tasuku Hiroshige, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The smooth muscle contraction of the vas deferens has the important function of transporting sperm. Interstitial cells (ICs) play a critical role in the pacing and modulation of various smooth muscle organs by interactions with nerves and smooth muscle. Elucidating the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of ICs is important for understanding their spatial relationship on the mesoscale between ICs, smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and nerves. In this study, the 3D ultrastructure of ICs in the smooth muscle layer of murine vas deferens and the spatial relationships between ICs, nerves, and smooth muscles were observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy and focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy. ICs have sheet-like structures as demonstrated by 3D observation using modern analytical techniques. Sheet-like ICs have two types of 3D structures, one flattened and the other curled. Multiple extracellular vesicle (EV)-like structures were frequently observed in ICs. Various spatial relations were observed in areas between ICs, nerves, and SMCs, which formed a complex 3D network with each other. These results suggest that ICs in the smooth muscle layer of murine vas deferens may have two subtypes with different sheet-like structures and may be involved in neuromuscular signal transmission via physical interaction and EVs.

Keywords

FIB/SEMinterstitial cellsmurine vas deferensthree-dimensional analysis
Type
Micrographia
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 567 - 575
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America

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