Glio-neuronal and glio-glial syncytial cytoplasmic connections in peripheral nerve trunks of the crayfish Astacus leptodactylus

The paper considers various aspects of glial sheaths of neurites in the crayfish peripheral nerve trunks and roots. There are revealed dotted glio-neuritic tight junctions and a varicose deformation of the intercellular glio-neuritic cleft. Rupture of membranes in the area of contact leads to formation of the glio-neuritic pore (less than 10 nm) that is enlarged and forms wide (up to 240 nm) syncytial perforations. At the edge of perforation, either remnants of tight junctions are present or damaged membranes that fuse and become rounded. The lumen of perforations always contains residual membranous bodies in the form of vesicles. Their deviation from the median line can indicate a mutual translocation of substances of the glio- and neuroplasm. In the adjacent layers of the multilayer glial sheath there is noted a similar phenomenon of formation of the glio-glial syncytial connection terminating by fusion of neighbor glial layers, which is terminated by fusion of neighbor glial layers into the single lamina. The process begins from the varicose deformation of interglial clefts, which appears as a result of massive formation of dotted and expanded tight membranous contacts. As a result of transformation of ellipsoid varicose deformations into the spherical ones, syncytial pores (less than 10 nm) between them are formed, which are enlarged and break the paired gliolemmae into fragments. As a result, the adjacent glial layers are united. Since this process in intact animals occurs on the background of undamaged nerve structures, a suggestion is put forward about its reversibility and the functional nature.