scholarly journals Electron microscope localization of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase in the superior cervical ganglion of the cat. II. Preganglionically denervated ganglion.

1981 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Davis ◽  
G B Koelle

Cat superior cervical ganglia (SCG), denervated preganglionically 6-8 d previously, were stained for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) by the bis-(thioacetoxy)aurate (I), or Au(TA)2, method and compared by electron microscopy with normal SCG described previously (Davis, R., and G. B. Koelle. 1978. J. Cell Biol. 78:785-809). In confirmation of earlier light microscopic findings by the highly specific copper thiocholine method, there was nearly a total disappearance of AChE from the ganglion; no myelinated or unmyelinated axons with AChE-stained axolemmas were found, and only occasional traces of AChE staining were noted at dendritic and perikaryonal plasma membranes. Considerable staining for BuChE persisted at the latter sites, however. As in the normal SCG, physostigmine-resistant staining, caused by noncholinesterase enzymes plus the possible presence of very low concentrations of AChE or BuChE, was noted at external mitochondrial membranes, elements of the endoplasmic reticulum of neurites and Schwann cells, and also in lysosomes. These findings confirm the previous identification of AChE-stained myelinated fibers in the normal SCG as preganglionic and of the unstained myelinated fibers as postganglionic. It is proposed that the maintenance of AChE at postsynaptic sites in normal ganglia is caused by the release of a trophic factor(s) from presynaptic terminals. The source of the postsynaptic BuChE, which is apparently completely absent from the endoplasmic reticulum of the ganglion cells, remains unexplained.

1984 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 849-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Davis ◽  
G B Koelle ◽  
U J Sanville

Ciliary ganglia (CG) of cats were stained for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) by the bis-(thioacetoxy) aurate (I), or Au(TA)2, method for examination by electron microscopy. Acetylcholinesterase was localized along the axolemmas of the preganglionic fibers and their terminals and on the plasmalemmas of the perikarya and dendrites of the ganglion cells, as in the cat superior cervical ganglion (SCG). In contrast to the SCG, AChE was also found in significant amounts in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of the CG cells and dendrites, and in varying but high concentrations in channels of extracellular space in the complex capsular region surrounding the perikarya and dendrites. Butyrylcholinesterase was confined chiefly to the dendritic and perikaryonal plasma membranes of the ganglion cells, as in the SCG. Lysosomes and mitochondria were stained chiefly for non-cholinesterase enzymes, as indicated by the physostigmine-treated controls. The significance of these distributions is discussed.


1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (10) ◽  
pp. 1445-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Quatacker ◽  
W G Annaert ◽  
W P De Potter

Highly glycosylated compounds have been demonstrated in the axonal reticulum elements of the superior cervical ganglion cells of the rat, and this is considered to suggest a connection of the reticulum with the trans Golgi side. In the present study, the axonal reticulum and the Golgi elements were further characterized by post-embedding methods of lectin-gold cytochemistry to determine their carbohydrate residues and to see, more specifically, if sialic acid residues could be detected in the axonal reticulum elements. Therefore, the affinity of neuronal cell structures for Limax flavus agglutinin (LFA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA-I) was tested in ultra-thin sections of glycolmethacrylate-embedded material, counterstained with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) at low pH. The trans Golgi network, the Golgi-associated axonal reticulum, the reticulum within axons, the large dense-cored vesicles, and the plasma membranes were reactive for all three lectins used. We conclude that the axonal reticulum elements carry sialic acid residues, relating them to the trans Golgi network. The present results support the concept that the axonal reticulum is an extension of the trans network of the Golgi apparatus specialized for neurosecretion.


1978 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 785-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Davis ◽  
G B Koelle

The distributions of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) of the cat were determined by electron microscopy (EM) with the bis-(thioacetoxy)aurate (I), or Au(TA)2, method. Before the infusion of fixative, one of the enzymes was selectively, irreversibly inactivated in vivo, as confirmed by light microscope (LM) examination of sections of the stellate ganglion stained by the more specific copper thiocholine method. Physostigmine-treated controls, for inhibition of AChE or BuChE, were stained concomitantly with tissue for enzyme localization by the Au(TA)2 method for EM examination in each experiment. It was concluded that most of the AChE of the cat SCG is present in the plasma membranes of the preganglionic axons and their terminals, and in the dendritic and perikaryonal plasma membranes of the postsynaptic ganglion cells. BuChE is confined largely to the postsynaptic neuronal plasma membranes. Reasons for the discrepancies between the localizations found by the present direct EM observations and those deduced earlier from LM comparisons of normal and denervated SCG are discussed. It is proposed that a trophic factor released by the preganglionic terminals is probably required for the synthesis of postsynaptic neuronal AChE, and that BuChE may serve as a precursor of AChE at that site.


Author(s):  
D. M. DePace

The majority of blood vessels in the superior cervical ganglion possess a continuous endothelium with tight junctions. These same features have been associated with the blood brain barrier of the central nervous system and peripheral nerves. These vessels may perform a barrier function between the capillary circulation and the superior cervical ganglion. The permeability of the blood vessels in the superior cervical ganglion of the rat was tested by intravenous injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Three experimental groups of four animals each were given intravenous HRP (Sigma Type II) in a dosage of.08 to.15 mg/gm body weight in.5 ml of.85% saline. The animals were sacrificed at five, ten or 15 minutes following administration of the tracer. Superior cervical ganglia were quickly removed and fixed by immersion in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in Sorenson's.1M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. Three control animals received,5ml of saline without HRP. These were sacrificed on the same time schedule. Tissues from experimental and control animals were reacted for peroxidase activity and then processed for routine transmission electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
J. Quatacker ◽  
W. De Potter

Mucopolysaccharides have been demonstrated biochemically in catecholamine-containing subcellular particles in different rat, cat and ox tissues. As catecholamine-containing granules seem to arise from the Golgi apparatus and some also from the axoplasmic reticulum we examined wether carbohydrate macromolecules could be detected in the small and large dense core vesicles and in structures related to them. To this purpose superior cervical ganglia and irises from rabbit and cat and coeliac ganglia and their axons from dog were subjected to the chromaffin reaction to show the distribution of catecholamine-containing granules. Some material was also embedded in glycolmethacrylate (GMA) and stained with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) at low pH for the detection of carbohydrate macromolecules.The chromaffin reaction in the perikarya reveals mainly large dense core vesicles, but in the axon hillock, the axons and the terminals, the small dense core vesicles are more prominent. In the axons the small granules are sometimes seen inside a reticular network (fig. 1).


1985 ◽  
Vol 225 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Saermark ◽  
N Flint ◽  
W H Evans

Endosome fractions were isolated from rat liver homogenates on the basis of the subcellular distribution of circulating ligands, e.g. 125I-asialotransferrin internalized by hepatocytes by a receptor-mediated process. The distribution of endocytosed 125I-asialotransferrin 1-2 min and 15 min after uptake by liver and a monensin-activated Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity coincided on linear gradients of sucrose and Nycodenz. The monensin-activated Mg2+-ATPase was enriched relative to the liver homogenates up to 60-fold in specific activity in the endosome fractions. Contamination of the endosome fractions by lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membranes and Golgi-apparatus components was low. By use of 9-aminoacridine, a probe for pH gradients, the endosome vesicles were shown to acidify on addition of ATP. Acidification was reversed by addition of monensin. The results indicate that endosome fractions contain an ATP-driven proton pump. The ionophore-activated Mg2+-ATPase in combination with the presence of undegraded ligands in the endosome fractions emerge as linked markers for this new subcellular organelle.


1990 ◽  
Vol 272 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
K M Hurst ◽  
B P Hughes ◽  
G J Barritt

1. Guanosine 5′-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[S]) stimulated by 50% the rate of release of [3H]choline and [3H]phosphorylcholine in rat liver plasma membranes labelled with [3H]choline. About 70% of the radioactivity released in the presence of GTP[S] was [3H]choline and 30% was [3H]phosphorylcholine. 2. The hydrolysis of phosphorylcholine to choline and the conversion of choline to phosphorylcholine did not contribute to the formation of [3H]choline and [3H]phosphorylcholine respectively. 3. The release of [3H]choline from membranes was inhibited by low concentrations of SDS or Triton X-100. Considerably higher concentrations of the detergents were required to inhibit the release of [3H]phosphorylcholine. 4. Guanosine 5′-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate and guanosine 5′-[alpha beta-methylene]triphosphate, but not adenosine 5′-[gamma-thio]-triphosphate, stimulated [3H]choline release to the same extent as did GTP[S]. The GTP[S]-stimulated [3H]choline release was inhibited by guanosine 5′-[beta-thio]diphosphate, GDP and GTP but not by GMP. 5. It is concluded that, in rat liver plasma membranes, (a) GTP[S]-stimulated hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine is catalysed predominantly by phospholipase D with some contribution from phospholipase C, and (b) the stimulation of phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis by GTP[s] occurs via a GTP-binding regulatory protein.


1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Setterfield ◽  
H. Stern ◽  
F. B. Johnston

To provide a basis for relating biochemical findings on isolated cell fractions to cytological structure in situ, embryos of pea and wheat were fixed with osmic acid, sectioned, and observed in phase-contrast and electron microscopes. The nuclei of all cells were similar, showing nuclear membranes, chromosomes, and prominent nucleoli. The cytoplasm contained highly developed structure which presumably reflected the incipient growth condition of the cells. Several cytoplasmic components were common to both embryos: small dense granules, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, presumed proplastids, amyloplasts, irregular bodies, plasma membranes, and plasmodesmata. The small dense granules, presumably ribonucleoprotein particles, occurred profusely, both free and in association with extensively developed endoplasmic reticulum. These particles are probably responsible for the microsomal fractions obtainable from embryos and seedlings. The mitochondria were usually relatively small (0.25−0.5 μ diameter) although groups of very long (5 μ) ones were occasionally found. Bodies resembling mitochondria in size and shape, but lacking cristae, were present and represent either immature mitochondria or proplastids. Reserve material occurred as starch in structurally complex amyloplasts and possibly as protein in the irregular bodies. In addition to these structures cells of the wheat embryos remote from the meristems contained prominent cytoplasmic bodies classified as "dense" and "thick-walled". The dense bodies probably represent stored lipids while the significance of the thick-walled bodies, which showed a variety of forms, is unknown.


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