Life Sciences Commons^™

Strontium And Bromide As Tracers In X-Ray Microanalysis Of Biological Tissue, Joanna Wroblewski, Samuel Sagström, Helmy Mulders, Godfried M. Roomans

Scanning Microscopy

Since energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis cannot distinguish between isotopes of the same element, alternative methods have to be used to get information similar to that obtained in experiments with radioactive tracers. In the present study, strontium was used as a tracer for calcium, and bromide as a tracer for chloride. Rats were injected with strontium chloride in vivo, and the uptake of strontium in the acinar cells of the submandibular gland was studied. Eventually a Sr/Ca ratio of 0.3 was reached. In some animals, secretion of mucus had been elicited by stimulation with isoproterenol 4 h prior to injection …

Bone Lining Cells: Structure And Function, Scott C. Miller, Louis De Saint-Georges, Beth M. Bowman, Webster S. S. Jee

Scanning Microscopy

Bone lining cells (BLC's) cover inactive (nonremodeling) bone surfaces, particularly evident in the adult skeleton. BLC's are thinly extended over bone surfaces, have flat or slightly ovoid nuclei, connect to other BLC's via gap junctions, and send cell processes into surface canaliculi. BLC's can be induced to proliferate and differentiate into osteogenic cells and may represent a source of "determined" osteogenic precursors. BLC's and other cells of the endosteal tissues may be an integral part of the marrow stromal system and have important functions in hematopoiesis, perhaps by controlling the inductive microenvironment. Because activation of bone remodeling occurs on inactive …

X-Ray Microanalysis Of Calcium Containing Organelles In Resin Embedded Tissue, G. Nicaise, I. Gillot, A. K. Julliard, E. Keicher, S. Blaineau, J. Amsellem, J. C. Meyran, M. L. Hernandez-Nicaise, B. Ciapa, C. Gleyzal

Scanning Microscopy

The localization of calcium in cell organelles at the electron microscope level is often achieved through cytochemical techniques, and verified by X-ray microanalysis. Various methods have been used to cytochemically detect calcium or calcium-binding sites : calcium loading, calcium substitution by strontium, barium, or even lead, and calcium precipitation by oxalate, phosphate, fluoride, or pyroantimonate. Their results may have heuristic value, particularly in preliminary studies of poorly known cell types. A complementary and more physiological approach is offered by quantitative measurement of the total calcium content of organelles after cryofixation.

Resin embedding is less demanding than cryomicrotomy and gives better …