THE ULTRASTRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHANGES OF FOLLICULAR DENDRITIC CELLS IN THE SPLEEN OF THE POSTNATAL RATS AT THE AGES OF 21 TO 48 DAYS / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

In this experiment, the PAP was used as a specific marker to label the follicular dendritic cells (FDC) and their possible precursors in the spleens of postnatal rats at 21, 27, 34, 41 and 48 days respectively, and the changes of the labeled cells were studied under TEM. In 21-day-old rats the labeled cells were of the histological feature resembling fibroblastic reticulum cells(FRC). As the rats getting elder, the shape and structure of the labeled cells changed. The shape of t he cells and nuclei changed from ellipse to irregular. The heterochromatin decreased and so did the microfilaments in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic processes increased in number, length and complexity. The relatively smooth cell surface became folding and invaginating. By the 48 days after birth the labeled cells possessed the features of the FDC. The result implys that the FDC might originate from FRC.