Research Abstract
Telocytes are a special type of interstitial cells characterized
by distinctive cellular extensions with alternating thin segments
(podomers) and dilations (podoms). Telocytes establish
contact with various cells and structures, but their role in
the regulation of the function of many cell types is still obscure.
The aim of the current study was to investigate the
morphology, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry of
telocytes, and their distribution, organization, and morphometric
measurements in different layers of the adult bovine
uterine tube. Telocytes showed positive immunostaining for
CD117, S-100 protein, vimentin, desmin, α-smooth muscle
actin, tubulin, laminin, estrogen receptor-α, and progesterone
receptor. They were organized in different types of
sheaths: subepithelial, inner/outer perimuscular, and intramuscular
sheaths. Telocytes were scattered in the lamina
propria, in the muscular layer, and the serosa. According to
their size, they were grouped into different types of telocytes:
small, large, and giant telocytes. Small telocytes were
the most common type and located in all layers; large telocytes
were observed in the epithelium, lamina propria, and
inner/outer perimuscular and intramuscular sheaths, and giant telocytes were found in the external layer of the outer
perimuscular sheath. Telocytes were connected by thin
and thick telopodes (fenestrated membranes). Fenestrated
membranes enabled connections between telocytes along
the entire muscular wall of the uterine tube. Telocytes established
an extensive biological network of different types of
cells and structures, including epithelial, muscular, and mast
cells, blood vessels, glomus, and nerve fibers. We hypothesize
that telocytes help to organize the functional coordination
between different types of cells in the uterine tube.-
