Morphological Evidence of Telocytes in Canine Inferior Vena Cava

Abstract

Telocytes (TCs) are a distinctive population of stromal cells extending special long prolongations with thin segments (podomers) and dilations (podoms). They have been identified in various organs and tissues of multispecies organisms. TCs have been identified in large arteries. The present study aimed to explore whether TCs also exists in large veins by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The results indicated that TCs indeed exist in inferior vena cava, which are a newly recognized compartment distinct from other interstitial cells in large veins. The TCs in inferior vena cava are mainly located in subendothelium and apparently different from the TCs in large artery, which exist in the tunica adventitia and adjacent to the outer elastic lamina. The characteristic morphological features of Tps in inferior vena cava were identified: the presence of secondary lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum.