ISSN:
0741-0581
Keywords:
Three-dimensional organization
;
Membrane glycoconjugates
;
Gold labeling
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
Notes:
Recently, cytochemical techniques have been applied for localizing membrane components; however, transmission electron microscopy only provides two-dimensional information about their distribution. Scanning electron microscopy, on the other hand, offers the possibility of examining the three-dimensional architecture of biological samples. The fracture-label cytochemical technique was combined with the backscattered electron imaging (BEI) mode of the scanning electron microscope to visualize the in vivo distribution of lectin binding sites on freeze-fractured biological membranes in tissues and cells. Pancreatic and testicular tissues, fixed with glutaraldehyde, were freeze-fractured and labeled with Helix pomatialectin-gold or Ricinus communis I-gold complexes. The labeled specimens were then critical-point dried and replicated with platinum-carbon for routine transmission electron microscopy or with carbon alone for BEL. Lectin-gold labeling of fractured plasma and intracellular membranes observed with BEI showed a labeling pattern similar to that seen by the replica method. However, BEI-fracturelabel provided additional information about the distribution of the labeling with respect to three-dimensional organization of tissues and cells. Large sample areas could be examined, making this technique particularly useful as a survey method for specimens that are either differentially labeled or composed of heterogenous cell populations.
Additional Material:
6 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jemt.1060080405
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