Effects of Mg2+ on Chromatic Structure in Isolated Chicken Liver Nuclei

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-131
Author(s):  
Soichiro Arai ◽  
Yuh H. Nakanishi
Keyword(s):  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Chromatin Condensation ◽  
Chicken Liver ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Razor Blade ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Liver Nuclei

Although many electron microscopic studies on extracted chromatin have provided considerable information on chromatin condensation induced by divalent cations, there is only a little literature available on the effects of divalent cations on chromatin structure in intact nuclei. In the present study, the effects of Mg2+ on chromatin structure in isolated chicken liver nuclei were examined over a wide concentration range of Mg2+ by scanning electron microscopy.Nuclei were prepared from chicken liver by the method of Chauveau et al. with some modifications. The nuclei were suspended in 25 mM triethanolamine chloride buffer (pH7.4) with 1 mM EDTA or in the buffer with concentrations of MgCl2 varying from 1 to 50 mM. After incubation for 1 min at 0°C, glutaraldehyde was added to 1.8% and the nuclei were fixed for 1 h at 4°C. The fixed nuclei were mixed with 15% gelatin solution warmed at about 40°C, and kept at room temperature until the mixture set. The gelatin containing the nuclei was fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde for 2-4 h, and cut into small blocks. The gelatin blocks were conductive-stained with 2% tannic acid and 2% osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol, and freeze-cracked with a razor blade in liquid nitrogen.

scholarly journals ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MITOSIS IN AMEBAE

1962 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Roth ◽  
E. W. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Ions ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Interphase Nucleus ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Divalent Ions ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Oriented Molecules ◽  
Protein Molecules ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Calcium Magnesium

Dividing nuclei from the giant ameba Pelomyxa carolinensis were fixed in osmium tetroxide solutions buffered with veronal acetate to pH 8.0. If divalent cations (0.002 M calcium, magnesium, or strontium as chlorides) were added to the fixation solution, fibrils that are 14 mµ in diameter and have a dense cortex are observed in the spindle. If the divalent ions were omitted, oriented particles of smaller size are present and fibrils are not obvious. The stages of mitosis were observed and spindle components compared. Fibrils fixed in the presence of calcium ions are not so well defined in early metaphase as later, but otherwise have the same diameter in the late metaphase, anaphase, and early telophase. Fibrils are surrounded by clouds of fine material except in early telophase, when they are formed into tight bundles lying in the cytoplasm unattached to nuclei. Metaphase and anaphase fibrils fixed without calcium ions are less well defined and are not observably different from each other. The observations are consistent with the concept that spindle fibrils are composed of polymerized, oriented protein molecules that are in equilibrium with and bathed in non-oriented molecules of the same protein. Partially formed spindle fibrils and ribosome-like particles were observed in the mixoplasm when the nuclear envelope had only small discontinuities. Remnants of the envelope are visible throughout division and are probably incorporated into the new envelope in the telophase. Ribosome-like particles are numerous in the metaphase and anaphase spindle but are not seen in the telophase nucleus, once the envelope is reestablished, or in the interphase nucleus.

Cytoplasmic Invaginations in Trophoblasts and Epithelial Cells of Rat

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 524-525
Author(s):  
Iracema M. Baccarini
Keyword(s):  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Nuclear Inclusions ◽  
Mucous Cells ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Cervical Epithelium ◽  
Intact Membrane ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Abnormal Cells ◽  
Nuclear Features

Some morphological nuclear features (invaginations) in normal and abnormal cells have been described in several electron microscopic studies. They have been referred to by others as blebs, loops, pockets, sheets, bodies, nuclear inclusions and cytoplasmic invaginations. Identical appearing structures were found in cells of the uterine cervical epithelium, in trophoblasts of blastocysts and in trophoblasts of rat placenta.Methods. Uterine cervix (normal rats), rat placenta (9-10 days gestation) and blastocyst were placed in 3% glutarahdehyde for 3 hours. The tissue was washed in phosphate buffer for 24 hours, postfixed in 1%. buffered osmium tetroxide for 1-2 hours and embedded in epon araldite. Sections were double stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and viewed in E. M. Siemens 200.Observations. Nuclear invaginations were found in basal, parabasal and mucous cells of the cervix epithelium, in trophoblasts of blastocyst and in trophoblasts of placenta. An oval, round or elongated invagination contained heterogenously cytoplasm surrounded by a double intact membrane; usually several invaginations were found in the same nucleus.

scholarly journals Crystallization of nordstrandite in ethylene glycol / water solutions: electron microscopic studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-467
Author(s):  
Maria Antunes ◽  
Helena Santos ◽  
Persio Santos
Keyword(s):  
Ethylene Glycol ◽  
Aluminium Hydroxide ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Water Solution ◽  
Rectangular Plates ◽  
Optical Study ◽  
Complete Dissolution ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Scanning Electron

AbstractThe present work shows the growth of nordstrandite microcrystals observed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Nordstrandite was synthesised from non-crystalline aluminium hydroxide reacted in 20% ethylene glycol/water solution, at room temperature. This material was characterized by TEM, SEM, SAED, XRD and EDS/TEM, during six month and revealed the formation and growth of nordstrandite. Fibrillar pseudoboehmite is the only aluminium hydroxide which could be identified during the first two weeks. The nuclei grow, from complete dissolution/recrystallization of pseudoboehmite fibrils, into platy rectangular microscrystals of nordstrandite. Some tabular microcrystals recrystallise, forming after six months only the multi-point nordstrandite stars. This electron-optical study suggest that the star shape results from the overlapping of rectangular plates, and pseudoboehmite fibrils act as the precursor of nordstrandite crystallisation in ethylene glycol/water solution.

scholarly journals ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MITOSIS IN AMEBAE

1960 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Roth ◽  
S. W. Obetz ◽  
E. W. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Thin Sheet ◽  
Amoeba Proteus ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Interphase Nuclei ◽  
Nucleolar Material ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Early Reconstruction

Individual organisms of Amoeba proteus have been fixed in buffered osmium tetroxide in either 0.9 per cent NaCl or 0.01 per cent CaCl2, sectioned, and studied in the electron microscope in interphase and in several stages of mitosis. The helices typical of interphase nuclei do not coexist with condensed chromatin and thus either represent a DNA configuration unique to interphase or are not DNA at all. The membranes of the complex nuclear envelope are present in all stages observed but are discontinuous in metaphase. The inner, thick, honeycomb layer of the nuclear envelope disappears during prophase, reappearing after telophase when nuclear reconstruction is in progress. Nucleoli decrease in size and number during prophase and re-form during telophase in association with the chromatin network. In the early reconstruction nucleus, the nucleolar material forms into thin, sheet-like configurations which are closely associated with small amounts of chromatin and are closely applied to the inner, partially formed layer of the nuclear envelope. It is proposed that nucleolar material is implicated in the formation of the inner layer of the envelope and that there is a configuration of nucleolar material peculiar to this time. The plasmalemma is partially denuded of its fringe-like material during division.

Acetylcholinesterase Localization with 3-Acetoxy-5-Indoledia-Zonium Chloride in Rat Spinal Cord Motor Neuron

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 228-229
Author(s):  
W. Allen Shannon ◽  
Arnold M. Seligman
Keyword(s):  
Azo Dye ◽  
Ache Activity ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Positive Charge ◽  
Rat Spinal Cord ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Subsequent Exposure ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Spinal Cord Motor Neuron

A number of methods based on different principles have been used in demonstrating acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the central nervous system at the light and electron microscopic levels. In most of these, very specific controls and stringent comparisons must be made especially where other carboxylic acid esterases may be present.The use of the substrate, 3-acetoxy-5-indolediazonium chloride (AID) (Fig. 1) gives a highly reliable method for cholinesterase due to the strong positive charge on the substrate and some specif icity for acetylcholinesterase due to the acetoxy moiety. The substrate can be used for light microscopy since it yields a reddish purple polymeric azo dye or black deposit on subsequent exposure to osmium tetroxide. For electron microscopy various osmication procedures are recommended, i.e., 2% osmium 60 min at room temperature, 2% osmium 60 min at 50°C or osmium vapor (0.5g/0.5ml distilled water) at 50°C for 30 or 60 min.

A combined pre- and post-embedding double labeling in the central nervous system with good tissue preservation

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 276-277
Author(s):  
A.M. Milroy ◽  
D.D. Ralston
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Microscopic Level ◽  
Electron Microscopic Level ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Double Labeling ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Central Nervous System

Multiple labeling at the electron microscopic level is routinely done in various parts of the central nervous system. We demonstrate that the pre-embedding tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) reaction for visualizing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) of Olucha and the slow osmication of Henry combined with a post-embedding nonetching immunogold method will also preserve good ultrastructure. Furthermore, the post-embedding immunocytochemistry of some neurotransmitters, i.e. gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA), can be done months after the tissue has been reacted for HRP and embedded in regular epon.Pre-embedding histochemistry:The use of TMB as a chromagen for the demonstration of neuronally transported HRP has both the advantage of being highly sensitive and of producing very specific needle-like crystals. Olucha et al demonstrated that one could further stabilize this reaction product with amonium heptamolybdate. Unfortunately the next step, fixation with regular osmium tetroxide, often resulted in the loss of the reaction product. However, the slow osmication with a lower pH (5.5) in the phosphate buffer at room temperature as recommended by Henry et al prevented this loss, and at the same time resulted in well preserved ultrastructure.

scholarly journals EVIDENCE FOR CHANGES IN PROTEIN POLYSACCHARIDE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ONSET OF CALCIFICATION IN CARTILAGE

1968 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor J. Matukas ◽  
George A. Krikos
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Marked Decrease ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Calcified Cartilage ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Matrix Components

Past work has suggested that protein polysaccharide may play a role in the calcification of cartilage. Recent electron microscopic studies on noncalcified cartilage have indicated that protein polysaccharide in cartilage matrix is represented by granules associated with collagen fibers. The present work has been designed for comparison of the matrix of noncalcified cartilage to that of calcified cartilage, with particular reference to these granules. Small blocks of tibia from 16-day embryos were fixed in cacodylate-buffered glutaraldehyde and postfixed in either phosphate- or Veronal-buffered osmium tetroxide. Special care was taken to maintain the pH above 7.0 at all times. For electron microscopy the tissues were dehydrated, embedded in Epon 812, sectioned, and stained with uranyl acetate or lead citrate. A marked decrease in the size of granules in the matrix of calcified cartilage compared to noncalcified cartilage was noted. Associated with the decrease in the size of granules was a condensation of matrix components and the presence of an amorphous electron-opaque material that was not seen in noncalcified areas. These results are interpreted to represent either a drop in concentration or a change in state of protein polysaccharide with the onset of calcification in cartilage.

scholarly journals WOUND HEALING AND COLLAGEN FORMATION

1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Ross ◽  
Earl P. Benditt
Keyword(s):  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Modified Technique ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Collagen Formation ◽  
Fibrillar Material ◽  
Nuclear Track Emulsion ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Healing Wounds ◽  
Collagenous Material

The sequence of incorporation and utilization of tritium-labeled proline has been examined in healing wounds from normal and scorbutic guinea pigs. Linear incisions in the skin of the animals were allowed to heal for 7 days. Each animal was given proline-H3, and the wounds were excised 30 minutes, 1 and 4 hours, 1, 3 and 7 days after proline administration. The tissues were fixed in osmium tetroxide, fixed again in neutral buffered formalin, embedded in epoxy resin, and sectioned at 1 micron thickness. The sections were coated with nuclear track emulsion, exposed, developed, and stained. The results of grain counts were quantitated as the number of counts per unit area overlying cells, fibers, etc. In both groups the proline reaches a maximum over the fibroblasts within 4 hours and subsequently disappears from the cells. Concomitantly, the proline reaches a maximum over the collagen (in normal animals) and extracellular fibrillar material (in scorbutic animals) by 4 hours, where it remains. The modified technique of radioautography used in this study allows not only resolution of approximately 1 micron, but also minimal background, decreased artifact, and a clear separation of the randomly situated elements within the wounds so that grain counting is facilitated. The results correlated with previous electron microscopic studies are consistent with the utilization of proline by the fibroblasts and its incorporation into collagen (in normal animals) and into the extracellular, fibrillar, non-collagenous material seen in scorbutic animals.

scholarly journals Organization in the cell nucleus: divalent cations modulate the distribution of condensed and diffuse chromatin.

1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Aaronson ◽  
E Woo
Keyword(s):  
Cell Nucleus ◽  
Divalent Cation ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Chromatin Condensation ◽  
Ultrastructural Organization ◽  
Organizational Changes ◽  
Nuclear Ultrastructure ◽  
Liver Nuclei ◽  
Inactive Chromatin

The organization of rat liver nuclei in vitro depends on the ionic milieu. Turbidity measurements of nuclear suspensions in the presence of varying concentrations of divalent cations have been correlated with nuclear ultrastructure. The concentration of MgCl2 (2 mM) at which turbidity of nuclear suspensions is maximal and chromatin condensation appears most extensive is the same concentration that reportedly (Gottesfeld et al., 1974, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 71:2193-2197) precipitates "inactive" chromatin. Thus, a mechanism is suggested by which chromatin activity and ultrastructural organization within the nucleus may be mediated. The nuclear organizational changes attendant upon the decrease in divalent cation concentration were not entirely reversible.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document