HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF HUMAN PROSTATE
II. Ultrastructural and XMA Observations of Zinc in the Hyperplastic and Neoplastic Prostate
1981 Volume 72 Issue 6 Pages 717-729
Details
1981 Volume 72 Issue 6 Pages 717-729
Human prostate has been known to contain a high concentration of zinc by histochemical and biochemical studies. Though zinc seems to play an important role in the prostate, little was known on the site and mode of action of the prostatic zinc. The object of the present study is to demonstrate the ultrastructural localization of zinc in the hyperplastic, as well as neoplastic prostate using sulfide silver method, and to determine the content of the reaction products in the ultrathin section by X-ray microanalyzer.
Specimens were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde saturated with hydrogen sulfide at 4°C for 2 hours. After ultra-thin sections were mounted on an Au grids, they were developed in the Timm's developing solution for 5 to 30min. Control studies were carried out with non-developed and ungassed sections. Developed and undeveloped ultra-thin sections were observed with JEM 100CX with energy dispersive type X-ray microanalyzer.
Abundant reaction products were observed in the secretory vacuoles of the hyperplastic prostate. Aggregations of the silver precipitation were clearly seen on the vesicles of the secretory vacuoles. None of the deposits was detected on the nucleus, lysosomes, Golgi apparatus and other cytoplasmic organelles. These findings were also observed in the neoplastic cells. Undeveloped but fixed with sulfide sections showed moderate changes ultrastructurally compared with conventional section. Small amounts of electron dense materials were noted in the secretory vacuoles, while the nucleus and other cytoplasmic organelles remained unchanged. By an X-ray microanalyzer, reaction products of the developed section were detected to contain a high amount of silver and sulfate. X-ray microanalyzer could reveal Kα and Lα of zinc at the electron dense material in the secretory vacuoles of the undeveloped section.
From the present investigation, prostatic zinc was clarified to localize in the secretory vacuoles of the prostate.
