Occurrence of Centrioles in Interphasic Hepatocytes of Bat and Chicken

Abstract

Occurrence of centrioles in non-dividing hepatocytes was examined by electron microscopy in the bat, Miniopterus schreibersi (Kuhl) and Myotis macrodactylus (Temminck), and the chicken. In both species centrioles were mostly found in the apical cytoplasmic area of the hepatocyte near the bile canaliculus. They were invested in a hyaloplasmic halo which was distinct in the chicken but rather indistinct in the bat. There was no difficulty in locating centrioles in the hepatocytes of either species. In the chicken centrioles were found in the attenuated apical cytoplasmic areas of 4-6 hepatocytes surrounding the bile canaliculus, giving us the impression that the occurrence of centrioles in non-dividing hepatocytes might be more frequent in the chicken than in the bat. The centrioles found in non-dividing bat and chicken hepatocytes apparently formed diplosomes. Neither multiple centrioles (comprising more than three) nor centriolar replications were found. Single cilium formation from the centrioles was not observed in either species.