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. 1967 Oct 1;35(1):115–126. doi: 10.1083/jcb.35.1.115

THYMIDINE-3H ELECTRON MICROSCOPE RADIOAUTOGRAPHY OF OSTEOGENIC CELLS IN THE FETAL RAT

Bronnetta L Scott 1
PMCID: PMC2107115  PMID: 6061712

Abstract

The proximal tibial epiphyses of 18–21-day-old fetal rats have been studied by thymidine-3H radioautography. The results reveal that the label is incorporated into two types of osteogenic cells: (a) a spindle cell type (A cells) with characteristics generally associated with matrix production, including an extensive development of the endoplasmic reticulum and the presence of large intracellular accumulations of a dense, finely granular material, morphologically identifiable as glycogen; and (b) a rounded cell type (B cells) with morphological features similar in degree and kind to those of the developing neutrophilic leukocyte, including an abundance of free ribosomes and mitochondria and a complex Golgi apparatus associated with dense specific granules, morphologically identifiable with primary lysosomes. These results, along with the occurrence of recognizable, labeled, immature, perivascular forms of both of these A and B type cells, lead to the conclusion that the specialization of osteogenic cells into osteoclasts and osteocytes may involve separate pathways of cytodifferentiation.

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Selected References

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