Summary
The structure of glandular cells in the anterior lobe of the rabbit prostate was reinvestigated, especially after fixation by vascular perfusion with glutaraldehyde. The lumina of the gland contain abundant globules of an amorphous material surrounded by a membrane. A few dense bodies and scattered globules with internal vesicles also occur. These luminar contents obviously correspond to the particles observed in the semen of rabbits. Strong evidence was found for the formation of the globules by an apocrine secretory process. Material similar to the contents of the luminar globules accumulates in the cell apex together with vesicles, probably of Golgi origin, but without any other organelles. Protrusions from the cell surface contain similar material, but the vesicles generally disappear before the forming globule is finally pinched off from the cell surface.
The characteristic feature of the secretory cell are the paucity of endoplasmic reticulum and the large amounts of ribosomes. This is interpreted as a specialization of the cell for the production of secretory protein that is not segregated within membranes until it is discharged from the cell by apocrine secretion.
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Nicander, L., Plöen, L. & Larsson, M. Specific apocrine secretion in the anterior lobe of the prostate gland of rabbits. Cell Tissue Res. 151, 69–77 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00222035