Figure 1: Hagfish slime gland, gland thread cells and thread skeins. | Nature Communications

Figure 1: Hagfish slime gland, gland thread cells and thread skeins.

From: Coiling and maturation of a high-performance fibre in hagfish slime gland thread cells

Figure 1

(a) H&E-stained cross-section of slime gland showing: gland thread cells (GTC), gland mucus cells (GMC), gland pore (p), striated muscle around gland (m) and skin (s). Insets show an immature GTC near the gland epithelium, and a mature GTC within the gland lumen. (b) SEM of coiled thread from a mature GTC that has broken open, revealing the organization of staggered loops (partially highlighted in red), which form layers of conical loop arrangements that spiral around the skein (one layer highlighted in purple). (c) Developmental progression of M. glutinosa GTCs revealed with TEM illustrating dramatic changes in nuclear size and shape. Immature GTCs lacking a slime thread can be identified by their prominent nuclei and nucleoli. As the slime thread increases in length and diameter, the nucleus becomes more spindle-like, eventually receding to the basal end of the cell in mature cells. Scale bar, 5 μm.

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