Demonstration of intracytoplasmic glycogen of megakaryocytes and blood platelets by means of the periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate method

Ultrastructural characteristics of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the early postnatal mouse optic nerve observed by serial block-face scanning electron microscopy

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC) arise from restricted regions of the central nervous system (CNS) and differentiate into myelin-forming cells after migration, but their ultrastructural characteristics have not been fully elucidated. This study examined the three-dimensional ultrastructure of OPCs in comparison with other glial cells in the early postnatal optic nerve by serial block-face scanning electron microscopy. We examined 70 putative OPCs (pOPC) that were distinct from other glial cells according to established morphological criteria. The pOPCs were unipolar in shape with relatively few processes, and their Golgi apparatus were localized in the perinuclear region with a single cisterna. Astrocytes abundant in the optic nerve were distinct from pOPCs and had a greater number of processes and more complicated Golgi apparatus morphology. All pOPCs and astrocytes contained a pair of centrioles (basal bodies). Among them, 45% of pOPCs extended a short cilium, and 20% of pOPCs had centrioles accompanied by vesicles, whereas all astrocytes with basal bodies had cilia with invaginated ciliary pockets. These results suggest that the fine structures of pOPCs during the developing and immature stages may account for their distinct behavior. Additionally, the vesicular transport of the centrioles, along with a short cilium length, suggests active ciliogenesis in pOPCs.

Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining of immature platelets in donors

Glycogen in platelets (PLTs) on smears of peripheral blood of 40 donors was investigated by the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) method. Three groups were formed. Group 1 was consisted of 21 men undergoing the donor selection procedure. Additionally, 9 first-time donors undergoing plateletpheresis (Group 2) and 10 donors who frequently underwent platelet apheresis (Group 3) were studied as a model of relative thrombocytopenia. Cell sizes were measured with the use of a Image Analyzer "ASPBC" (Russia). The training procedure and classification of PAS-blood PLTs were made on the basis of expert evaluation. In this article, we have established three facts. First, the PAS-positive PLT area was larger than that of the PAS-negative cells (9.5 ± 3.6 sq.mkm vs. 3.9 ± 1.3 sq.mkm, p < 0.001, n = 21). The PAS-positivity of PLTs was 23.1 ± 9.2%. Second, the PAS-positivity correlated (r(S) = 0.63, p < 0.05) with the immature platelets fraction (IPF %), determined using Sysmex XE-2100. The mean IPF was 2.1 ± 1.0% (range 0.3-4.6%). Third, using the IPF% values obtained in Group 1, we found a significantly higher level of IPF in the samples both in Group 2 [mean value 4.2 ± 2.0% (range 1.9-7.0), p < 0.01] and in Group 3 [mean value 5.1 ± 2.5% (range 1.2-8.6), p < 0.004] with relative thrombocytopenia [Group 2: median 198 (95% confidence interval, CI 166-227) vs. median 229 (95% CI 206-267), p < 0.05; Group 3: median 142.5 (95% CI 132-173) vs. median 214.5 (95% CI 196-267), p < 0.01] after plateletpheresis. There was also a significant difference between the pre- and post-plateletpheresis for IPF% in Group 2 and Group 3: median 1.7 (95% CI 1.4-4.0) vs. median 4.0 (95% CI 2.7-5.8), p < 0.05 and median 4.0 (95% CI 2.7-6.0) vs. median 5.1 (95% CI 3.3-6.9), p < 0.01. The increased IPF shows a correlation with the PAS positivity [r(S) = 0.5 (p = 0.14) and r(S) = 0.6 (p = 0.05)] which has a tendency to increase [Group 2: median PAS 24.3% (95% CI 14.8-26.2) vs. median PAS 30% (95% CI 21.6-34.2), p = 0.05 and Group 3: median PAS 31% (95% CI 19-36.4) vs. median PAS 27.4% (95% CI 18.7-34.9), p = 0.35] and correlated negatively with the decrease in the platelet count [Group 2: r(S) = -0.7 (p = 0.21) and Group 3: r(S) = -0.5 (p = 0.14)]. Our findings support the significance of platelet evaluation by light microscopy to understand why morphologic changes of thrombocytopoiesis may be expected in thrombocytopenia due to donation of platelets.

Special cytochemistry in cell biology

Cytochemistry is a science of localizing chemical components of cells and organelles on histological sections by using various techniques. We first aimed at studying cytochemistry by developing new techniques using various principles such as enzyme cytochemistry, microincineration, microspectrophotometry, radioautography, cryo-techniques, X-ray microanalysis and immunocytochemistry. We first concentrated on developing methodologies in the 1960s to 1970s. We then applied these special techniques to various kinds of cells in men and animals. Earlier, I proposed to classify these methods into three categories, i.e., chemical, physical, and biological techniques. The methodology has been well developed to form a new science which should be designated as "general cytochemistry" similarly to the general histology. On the other hand, these techniques should be applied to various cells in various organ systems, such as the skeletal, muscular, digestive, respiratory, urinary, reproductive, endocrine, circulatory, nervous and sensory systems similarly to the special histology or the histology of organs. I summarize the results of cytochemical studies on cells of various organs carried out in our laboratory during these 44 years since 1955. The results obtained from cytochemical studies applied to various cells in respective organ systems should be designated as "special cytochemistry."

Three-dimensional high voltage electron microscopy of thick biological specimens

The procedures recently developed in our laboratory to observe three-dimensional structures of cell organelles in thick biological specimens by means of high voltage electron microscopy are reviewed. Thick biological specimens such as whole mount cultured cells seeded and grown on grid meshes in culture vessels or thick sections cut from embedded tissues and stained by histochemical reactions can be readily observed three-dimensionally by high voltage transmission electron microscopy at 400-1000kV. Cultured cells used were both primary cultures from animal tissues and established cell lines maintained in our laboratory. The livers of adult Wistar rats were isolated by collagenase perfusion, and hepatocytes were suspended in a Leibovitz medium and seeded on formval coated gold grid meshes in Petri dishes, incubated in a CO(2) incubator in a humidified atmosphere containing 5% CO(2) in air at 37 degrees C for a few days. Established cell lines, CHO-K1 cells, were cultured in Ham's F12 medium, while HeLa cells were cultured in Eagle's MEM under the same condition. Some of the cells were cultured under experimental conditions such as hepatocyte culture in the medium containing peroxisome proliferating agents such as clofibrate or bezafibrate and some of them were labeled with (3)H-thymidine, (3)H-uridine, (3)H-labeled precursors and (14)C-bezafibrate. Also some cells were incubated in medium containing HRP to induce pinocytosis. All the whole mount cultured cells on grid meshes were prefixed in buffered 2.5% glutaraldehyde, stained with various histochemical reactions and postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide. The histochemical reactions used were glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase), thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase), cytochrome oxidase, acid phosphatase (AcPase), DAB, ZIO, PA-TCH-SP reactions and radioautography was performed after labeling with radiolabeled compounds. The whole mount cultured cells were dried in a critical point dryer and were observed with JEOL JEM-4000EX or Hitachi H-1250M high voltage electron microscopes at 400-1000kV. By tilting the specimens' stereo-pair micrographs were recorded and they were observed with stereoscopes. Rat liver, mouse intestine and pancreas tissues, fixed and stained as above, were embedded in Epoxy resin, thick sectioned at 1-2 microm and were observed as for the whole mount cultured cells at 1000kV. Stereo-pairs were further analyzed with an image analyzer JEOL JIM-5000 (JEOL, Tokyo, Japan), producing two contour lines plotted from the micrographs at a thickness of 0.2 microm and were observed with anaglyph type glasses, demonstrating the depth or heights of respective cell organelles. The results show that whole mount cultured cells and thick sections stained with histochemical reactions reveal cell organelles corresponding to marker enzymes, such as G-6-Pase in endoplasmic reticulum, TPPase and ZIO in Golgi apparatus, cytochrome oxidase in mitochondria, AcPase in lysosomes, DAB in peroxisomes and pinocytotic vesicles, PA-TCH-SP in secretory granules, (3)H-thymidine and (3)H-uridine in nuclei, (3)H-animo acids in endoplasmic reticulum and secretory granules, (14)C-bezafibrate around ER and peroxisomes. The ultrastructure of these cell organelles as well as the structural relationship between them can be demonstrated three-dimensionally with stereo-pair images. Overall, these procedures are useful for analyzing stereologically the ultrastructure of cell organelles in cells and tissues.

Ultracytochemical demonstration of glycogen in cone, but not in rod, photoreceptor cells in the rat retina

The presence of native glycogen in photoreceptor cells of the rat retina has not been identified in the literature. We have studied this ultracytochemically. After perfusion with glutaraldehyde fixative, the eyes were enucleated, and the retinal tissues, postfixed with OsO4, were embedded in epoxy resin. Some tissues were treated with saliva before postfixation. Ultrathin sections, stained by the periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate (PA-TCH-SP) method or with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, were examined by electron microscopy. On routinely stained sections, glycogen particles seemed to be absent in the cytoplasmic matrix of the photoreceptor cells because they were indistinguishable from the numerous ribosomes. This was due to a similarity in size and electron density. After PA-TCH-SP staining, fine electron-dense reaction products appeared on small cytoplasmic particles (but not on ribosomes) in the inner segments, perikarya and synaptic terminals of a subpopulation of photoreceptor cells. These particles, 15-25 nm in diameter, were identified as beta-particles of glycogen because of their susceptibility to enzyme digestion. The glycogen-rich photoreceptor cells were thought to be cone cells by reasons of their morphological features, such as synaptic terminals, nuclei and outer segments. These results suggest that the cone, but not the rod, photoreceptor cells in the rat contain abundant glycogen.

Glycogen content and PAS staining pattern of human megakaryocytes

The glycogen content of human megakaryocytes was studied using a quantitative method. Smears of bone marrow from 13 individuals were stained with the modified PAS reaction with and without prior treatment with alpha-amylase. The intensity of the reaction was determined by microspectrophotometry in 50 megakaryocytes from each individual. It was found that megakaryocytes are rich in glycogen which is not only confined to the intensely PAS-positive granules and inclusion bodies, but also makes up a good part of the diffuse cytoplasmic staining. In the diffusely stained megakaryocytes, glycogen makes up 32% of the intensity of the PAS reaction, while it reaches 47% in those with granules and up to 60% in those with inclusion bodies. The total extinction of the PAS-stained megakaryocytes is not only dependent on the morphological appearances of the cells, but is also positively correlated with their size.

Ultrastructural cytochemistry of glycoconjugates in basophils from humans and animals

The distribution of glycoconjugates in the basophil granules of humans, guinea pigs, and rabbits was compared. The observation of acid mucopolysaccharides using the dialyzed iron method and of sulfated glycoconjugates using the high iron diamine method revealed three types of reactions in the basophil granules of all three species: granules showing a strong overall reaction, granules showing reaction only at their periphery, and granules showing no reaction. With regard to the relationship between maturation and the types of basophil granules, it appeared that, in general, there were many type-1 granules among immature basophils, but that these granules decreased in mature basophils as type-3 granules increased. The reaction patterns of periodate-reactive neutral glycoconjugates, as shown by the periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate (PA-TCH-SP) method, were different from those of acid mucopolysaccharides: the reaction of basophil granules was diffusely positive, and localization at the periphery was rarely observed. Therefore, unlike the acid mucopolysaccharides, it was difficult to classify the glycoconjugates into three types. However, as with acid mucopolysaccharides, there was a tendency for periodate-reactive glycoconjugates to decrease as maturation progressed. In terms of different species of animals, the reaction of periodate-reactive glycoconjugates with PA-TCH-SP was stronger in humans and rabbits than in guinea pigs.

Ultracytochemistry of glycogen particles in human erythroblasts. Semiquantitative observation

We examined the fine structural distribution of glycogen particles in the cells of the erythrocyte series from thirty individuals with or without hematological disorders using the periodic acid-thiocarbo hydrazide-silver proteinate (PA-TCH-SP) technique, which is known to extend PAS staining to the ultrastructural level. In diseases exhibiting dyserythropoiesis, such as refractory anemia with excess of blasts (RAEB) and juvenile chronic myelocytic leukemia (JCML), glycogen particles remarkably increased. In diseases showing hypererythropoiesis such as iron deficiency anemia, hemolytic anemia, or in cells obtained from very small premature infants, an increase in glycogen particles was observed in most cases. Compared to the PAS staining technique, which also utilizes the periodic acid reaction, the PA-TCH-SP technique appears to be more sensitive for visualizing glycogen particles in PAS negative cells, in addition to its capability of demonstrating the distribution of periodate reactive substance at the fine structural level.

Ultrastructural localization of glycogen in the granulocytes of normal rabbit bone marrow

The glycogen of rabbit granulocytes has been studied in glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide fixed bone marrow by the periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate procedure (PA-TCH-SP). The PA-TCH-SP procedure involved the staining of intracytoplasmic glycogen more densely than the routine lead citrate staining. The PA-TCH-SP procedure demonstrated the intracytoplasmic glycogen in all three kinds of granulocytes. Though a sequence of intensity was observed in each stage of cell maturation, intracytoplasmic glycogen increased generally in accordance with cell maturation in the granulocytes. Functional significance of the glycogen in the granulocytes was discussed in relation to its staining. A very weak reaction in the granules of the granulocytes was described in relation to their contents.

Histochemical studies of mucosubstances in metaplastic epithelium of the stomach, with special reference to the development of intestinal metaplasia

Processes in the development of intestinal metaplasia of the stomach were investigated from the morphological and histochemical approaches using light and electron microscopic techniques. The specimens taken from 38 gastric carcinomas and 15 gastric and/or duodenal ulcers were subjected to this study. Morphological appearances of the intestinal metaplasia observed in routine examination with hematoxylin and eosin staining was able to divided into complete and incomplete metaplasia by the light and electron microscope histochemical stainings of the mucosubstances. The columnar cells at the area of the incomplete metaplasia had both the properties of the intestinal epithelia and the gastric foveolar epithelia. The incomplete as well as the complete metaplasia arose from the generative cells at the isthmus of the gland. The generative cells, however, sometimes gradually transformed to produce the complete metaplastic cells. The two processes of the development of the intestinal metaplasia were proposed and discussed.