Cytochemical Study of Glucose-6-Phosphatase in Chinese Hamster Testis

Glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-pase) was studied in the Chinese hamster testis by use of electromicroscopy. Seminiferous tubules were dissected and prepared for cutting with the freezing microtome. 40 mc frozen sections were centrifuged and then resuspended and incubated in G-6-pase. Specimens were then prepared for the electron microscope either unstained or stained with lead citrate. G-6-pase was localized in spermatogenic cells Sertoli cells and Leydig cells. Reaction products of the enzymatic activity was seen within the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope. The various stages of the maturing spermatid the spermatogonia and spermatocyte all had positive activity. In spermatids the acrosomal attachment region showed an absence of enzymatic activity. An intense reaction was observed in the semicircular profiles of endoplasmic reticulum surrounding the Golgi apparatus even after the Golgi moved away from the acrosome. The Chinese hamster spermatid appears to deviate from the human in whom G-6-pase is absent.