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Abstract

Testicular samples were collected at the peak of spermiogenesis from African sideneck turtles (n=10) (Pelusios castaneus) to describe the ultrastructural features of the Sertoli cell in relation to the Blood-Testis Barrier (BTB) in the turtle using light and electron microscopy. The nucleus of the Sertoli cell had irregular outline with numerous infoldings and dense granular nuclear chromatin. The cytoplasm of the Sertoli cell consisted of mitochondria, vesicles, vacuoles, lipid droplets as well as smooth and rough endoplasmic reticula. reframe the whole sentence Two prominent cell to cell contacts were identified around the Sertoli cell cytoplasm: Sertoli-Sertoli cell junctions and the Sertoli-germ cell junctions. The Sertoli-germ cell junctions were composed of zonula occludens (tight junction), zonula adherens (anchoring junction) as well as macula adherens (desmosomes) while the Sertoli-Sertoli cell junctions were composed of only tight junctions. The position and structure of the Sertoli cell junctions of the African sideneck turtle, were similar to those of the Asian soft-shelled turtles, can be traced to their role in the creation of the BTB as well as the nursing of germ cells. The present study, being the first report on the cytology of the Sertoli cell in any turtle of African origin, clearly revealed that there are structural differences between Sertoli-Sertoli and Sertoli-germ cell contacts in the African sideneck turtle.