title: Effect of fixation conditions on the granule morphology of rat antral gastrin cells: an ultrastructural and immunocytochemical study.
abstract: After fixation at pH = 7 or pH = 5 the gastrin (G) cells in the rat pyloric antrum were investigated by conventional and immunoelectron microscopy. After fixation at pH = 7 G cells contained numerous electron-lucent granules, a few electron-dense and intermediate granules while G cells had numerous electron-dense and intermediate granules, and a few electron-lucent granules after fixation at pH = 5. Preembedding immunoelectron microscopy revealed that in G cells after fixation at pH = 7, gastrin immunoreactivity was mainly seen in the cytoplasm, cores of a few electron-dense and intermediate granules and in the periphery but not within the numerous electron-lucent granules; in G cells after fixation at pH = 5, gastrin immunoreactivity was mainly visible in the cores of numerous intermediate and electron-dense granules, in the periphery of a few electron-lucent granules, but weakly in the cytoplasm. Therefore, the variable electron density of G cells may reflect differences in the degree of the leakage of contents from the gastrum-containing granules into the cytoplasm during fixation. This phenomenon may be related to the acidity of the granule substances during intragranular maturation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Asahikawa Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oomori
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005755:Gastrins / Q000032:analysis*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D011706:Pyloric Antrum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016707:Tissue Fixation
chemical_list: D005755:Gastrins