Ultrastructural study of postnatal development of the tonsillar crypt epithelium of the musk shrew, Suncus murinus

An ultrastructural study was made of the postnatal development of the tonsillar crypt epithelium in the musk shrew, Suncus murinus. On day 3 after birth, a particular kind of large lymphoid cell was first seen to move through the basement membrane into the epithelium. The next migration was that of lymphocytes, which passed through holes in the basement membrane. On days 5 to 7, the lymphocytes formed clusters, and pale epithelial cells of low electron density appeared. The cell clusters and pale epithelial cells fused on day 10. By day 14, these epithelial cells extended cytoplasmic projections to the surface of the epithelium, which had many heterophagic vacuoles and some microvilli-like structures. These findings suggest that the lymphoepithelial relationship is important for the organization of the immunological microenvironment in tonsillar crypt epithelium of the neonatal musk shrew.