Ultrastructure of the cumulus cell mass surrounding a human egg in the pronuclear stage.

The cumulus cell mass enclosing a penetrated human egg was studied. The egg, recovered from the Fallopian tube approximately 80 h after luteinizing hormone peak and 35 h after insemination, was surrounded by a large, expanded and dissociated cumulus. Dispersions of the outermost cumulus cell layers occurred during processing, the innermost cell layers remained attached enclosing the egg. The photomicrographs showed that the follicular cells were embedded in an intercellular matrix and contact via gap-junction-like structures between neighboring cells existed. Cumulus cell processes traversing the zona pellucida were not found. Two types of follicular cells coexisted within the cumulus, light and dark cells. These cellular types, were different in morphology and size. Light cells displayed cytoplasmic organelles normally associated with protein synthesis and steroidogenesis. Dark cells with long cytoplasmic processes were involved in sperm phagocytosis. It is suggested from the characteristics of the cytoplasmic organelles that dark cells seem to be modified light follicular cells.