Summary
An electron microscopic study was made of the hypoglossal nuclei in a series of rabbits which had been subjected to unilateral hypoglossal neurotomy. Particular attention was given to the dense bodies which were present in the cytoplasm of the motor neurones on both sides. The simplest forms of dense body showed a granular structure without a limiting membrane. Others showed a limiting membrane (with either one or two dense layers) and varying degrees of internal organization in the form of double membranes. Some of the more highly-organized dense bodies possessed electron-transparent areas and were very similar in appearance to mitochondria. The appearances seemed consistent with the possibility that different forms of dense body represented developmental stages leading to or from mitochondria.
Counts made on micrographs confirmed that mitochondrial numbers were increased 10–11 days after axonal section and showed in addition that there was an associated increase in the number of dense bodies. These findings are interpreted as evidence in favour of the developmental relationship of dense bodies to mitochondria.
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Supported by Research Grants M-388 and B-782 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, U.S. Public Health Service.
On leave from the Department of Anatomy, The University, Bristol, England.
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Hudson, G., Hartmann, J.F. The relationship between dense bodies and mitochondria in motor neurones. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 54, 147–157 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00338699
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00338699