Ultrastructural study of interdigitating cells in the thymus of the spotless starling, Sturnus unicolor.

Interdigitating cells (IDC) in the thymus of the spotless starling, Sturnus unicolor, were examined by electron microscopy. They occur principally in the thymic medulla and corticomedullary border. They possess an irregular nucleus and a perinuclear area of cytoplasm, containing most of the membranous organelles, surrounded by a peripheral electron-lucent zone. Clusters of smooth Golgi vesicles and complicated labyrinthine membrane-membrane contacts are the most characteristic cytological features. Birbeck granules are absent. Lymphocytes, plasma cells and even myoid cells can be found embedded in the cytoplasm. Immature elements, intermediate between epithelial-reticular cells and interdigitating cells, are tentatively identified as prointerdigitating cells. The functional significance of IDCs, and their phylogenetic significance in the vertebrate immune system, is discussed.