Ultrastructural demonstration of cilia and ciliary rootlets in mammalian uterine tube epithelium in different functional states
Nayak, R.K.; Wu, A.S.
American Journal of Veterinary Research 36(11): 1623-1630
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9645 PMID: 1238042 Document Number: 87230
In an electron microscopic study of tissue from the infundibulum region of the oviduct of guinea pig, cow, ewe and sow, the cilia and ciliary rootlets were present in variable numbers in the ciliated cells during both the follicular and luteal phases of the oestrous cycle. True degeneration of cilia was not evident during the luteal phase or pregnancy. The ciliary roots were about 1 mu m in most species, but in the cow they reached a length of 2 mu m. It is suggested that the ciliary rootlets probably act as anchoring or stabilizing structures for the motile cilia, and the results indicated that they are more widely distributed in mammalian oviduct cilia than previously thought. The presence of fibrous granules in close association with the basal bodies indicate that these granules have a role in the development of cilia and rootlet. Cilia and precursor fibrous granules were also seen in porcine fetal oviduct epithelial cells.