Figure 2
From: Telocytes contribute to aging-related modifications in the prostate
Ultrastructure of the ventral prostate of adult male gerbils (3 months old). (A) A stratified perialveolar smooth muscle layer can be seen; the epithelium is polarized, with vesicles going towards the apical region of the secretory cells, which is in contact with the alveolar lumen. (B) A telocyte can be observed in the interstitial region with close association to collagen fibrils; it is possible to observe its telopode divided into podomers and podoms. Another telopode is observed between two smooth muscle cells. (C) A subepithelial telocyte can be observed, which is closely associated to both epithelial and smooth muscle layers. Telopodes can be seen in the interstitium, surrounding smooth muscle cells. (D) Telopodes can also be seen surrounding blood vessels in close association to collagen fibrils. (E) Detail of an interstitial telocyte close to collagen fibrils. Ep (Prostate epithelium/epithelial cells), SMC (Smooth muscle cell), CF (Collagen fibrils), arrow (podoms), arrowhead (podomers).
