The cytoskeletal lattice of the neurohypophysial cells

Abstract

The cytoskeleton of rat neurohypophysial cells as seen in resinless sections is an irregular three‐dimensional lattice of short strands of cytoplasmic matrix (the microtrabeculae) that interconnect parallel arrays of neurotubules, neurofilaments, abundant neurosecretory granules, and other membrane‐bound organelles including the plasma membrane. This morphological finding suggests that the cytoplasmic ground substance constitutes a cytoskeletal continuum that may be the ultrastructural expression of a motile apparatus responsible for neurosecretory granule movement and hormone release in the neurohypophysis.