Frozen-surface replicas of rat bladder luminal membrane.
A method for preparing replicas of the luminal surface of frozen, unfractured but deep-etched whole bladder tissue using a Bullivant type II device is described. A small piece of glutaraldehyde-fixed (uncryoprotected) rat bladder is rinsed in distilled water, mounted luminal side uppermost on a specimen holder and rapidly frozen by immersion in liquid nitrogen (cooled below its boiling point in a vacuum) or by contact with a copper block at liquid nitrogen temperature. The specimen is processed in the type II device without fracturing and 'deep-etched' by allowing a longer period than usual to elapse before shadowing. The results are assessed with reference to the appearance of the luminal membrane in standard freeze-fracture replicas, and some preliminary observations on the structure of the normal luminal membrane and its counterpart in bladder tumours are presented.
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005613:Freeze Etching / Q000379:methods; D005614:Freeze Fracturing; D051381:Rats; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000648:ultrastructure