On the purpose of studying relationships of the fine structure to the function in the thyroid gland histochemically, various reagents were used as a fixative and their straining effects was observed electromicroscopically. Reagents used are as follows: Glyoxal, HgCl
2, Pb-acetate, KMnO
4, OsO
4.
The results obtained are summarized as follows:
1) When electromicroscopical specimens were fixed with glyoxal, HgCl
2 or Pb-acetate (isotonic sucrose solution, pH 7.4) the nuclear membrane, endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria were clearly recognizable, their peculiar lamellar structure being preserved fairly well.
2) Fixation with lead acetate-glyoxal mixture caused deposition of somewhat coarse lead particles in the membrane of mitochondira and Golgi complexes, or on the border area of secretion granules while such a deposition of metal was observed neither in the fixation with lead acetate only, nor mercury salt (in glyoxal and formal aldehyde solution).
3) Permanganate (0.8% in isotonic saline) was also found effective as an electromicroscopical fixative or stain as osmium tetraoxide.
4) These-findings seem to suggest that the electron dense layer of endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria or nuclear membrane is chiefly composed of proteins and fairly good preservation of their membrane structure by above mentioned fixatives is due to intermolecular bridge formed by the reaction of these reagents with -SH
2, -NH
2 or other functional groups of structural proteins.
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