A comparative ultrastructural study of endothelial cell tubular structures from injured mouse blood-brain barrier and normal hepatic sinusoids demonstrated after perfusion fixation with osmium tetroxide.
Mice subjected to surgical leptomeningeal traumatic injury were fixed by perfusion with solutions containing either: (1) osmium tetroxide, (2) a mixture (cocktail) of osmium tetroxide and glutaraldehyde, or (3) a standard aldehyde fixative following the circulation of intravenously injected solutions of native ferritin (NF) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) tracers. Endothelial cells (ECs) from injured cerebral cortex from all the above groups were examined ultrastructurally for the presence of tubular transport structures. These ECs were compared to endothelia of hepatic sinusoids which normally express numerous EC tubular profiles. Because we observed EC tubular structures in ECs of both injured brain and from liver sinusoids irrespective of fixation regime employed, we present evidence that the tubular profiles are real structures that form in vivo and which do not represent postmortem fixation artifacts.
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D008099:Liver / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009992:Osmium; D009993:Osmium Tetroxide; D010477:Perfusion
D009992:Osmium; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D009993:Osmium Tetroxide