Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1971 Feb 1;48(2):314–323. doi: 10.1083/jcb.48.2.314

THE DISTRIBUTION OF INORGANIC CATIONS IN MOUSE TESTIS

Electron Microscope and Microprobe Analysis

Abraham L Kierszenbaum 1, Cesar M Libanati 1, Carlos J Tandler 1
PMCID: PMC2108181  PMID: 4101521

Abstract

For localization of pyroantimonate-precipitable cations, mouse testes were fixed with a saturated aqueous solution of potassium pyroantimonate (pH about 9.2, without addition of any conventional fixative), hardened with formaldehyde, and postosmicated. A good preservation of the cell membranes and over-all cell morphology is obtained as well as a consistent and reproducible localization of the insoluble antimonate salts of magnesium, calcium, and sodium. Four sites of prominent antimonate deposits are revealed, besides a more or less uniform distribution of the precipitates. These sites are: (a) In the walls of the seminiferous tubules, localized in two concentric layers corresponding to the inner and outer layers of the tubular wall; (b) Around the blood vessels and adjacent connective tissue; (c) At the area of contact between the Sertoli cell and spermatids, where a double line of precipitate surrounds the head of the mature spermatids; and (d) In the cell nuclei, disposed between regions of the condensed chromatin. The nucleus of mature spermatids did not show any sign of antimonate precipitation. The implications of this inorganic cation distribution are discussed with relation to their anionic counterparts, their localization in other animal and plant tissues, and the possibility that those sites may represent barriers to the free passage of ions.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.0 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bulger R. E. Use of potassium pyroantimonate in the localization of sodium ions in rat kidney tissue. J Cell Biol. 1969 Jan;40(1):79–94. doi: 10.1083/jcb.40.1.79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CLERMONT Y. Contractile elements in the limiting membrane of the seminiferous tubules of the rat. Exp Cell Res. 1958 Oct;15(2):438–440. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(58)90052-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Flickinger C. J. The postnatal development of the Sertoli cells of the mouse. Z Zellforsch Mikrosk Anat. 1967;78(1):92–113. doi: 10.1007/BF00344405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HORSTMANN E. [Electron microscopic study of spermio-histogenesis in man]. Z Zellforsch Mikrosk Anat. 1961;54:68–89. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hardin J. H., Spicer S. S., Greene W. B. Ultrastructural localization of antimonate deposits in rabbit heterophil and human neutrophil leukocytes. Lab Invest. 1969 Sep;21(3):214–224. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hartmann J. F. High sodium content of cortical astrocytes. Arch Neurol. 1966 Dec;15(6):633–642. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1966.00470180073008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kaye G. I., Cole J. D., Donn A. Electron microscopy: sodium localization in normal and ouabain-treated transporting cells. Science. 1965 Nov 26;150(3700):1167–1168. doi: 10.1126/science.150.3700.1167. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kaye G. I., Wheeler H. O., Whitlock R. T., Lane N. Fluid transport in the rabbit gallbladder. A combined physiological and electron microscopic study. J Cell Biol. 1966 Aug;30(2):237–268. doi: 10.1083/jcb.30.2.237. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LACY D., ROTBLAT J. Study of normal and irradiated boundary tissue of the seminiferous tubules of the rat. Exp Cell Res. 1960 Oct;21:49–70. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(60)90346-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lane B. P., Martin E. Electron probe analysis of cationic species in pyroantimonate precipitates in epon-embedded tissue. J Histochem Cytochem. 1969 Feb;17(2):102–106. doi: 10.1177/17.2.102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Legato M. J., Langer G. A. The subcellular localization of calcium ion in mammalian myocardium. J Cell Biol. 1969 May;41(2):401–423. doi: 10.1083/jcb.41.2.401. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Libanati C. M., Tandler C. J. The distribution of the water-soluble inorganic orthophosphate ions within the cell: accumulation in the nucleus. Electron probe microanalysis. J Cell Biol. 1969 Sep;42(3):754–765. doi: 10.1083/jcb.42.3.754. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mancini R. E., Castro A., Seiguer A. C. Histologic localization of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones in the rat testis. J Histochem Cytochem. 1967 Sep;15(9):516–525. doi: 10.1177/15.9.516. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Nolte A. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen zum Natrium- und Chloridionentransport in der proximalen Tubuluszelle der Rattenniere. Z Zellforsch Mikrosk Anat. 1966;72(4):562–573. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Siegesmund K. A. Sodium localization in the cerebellum. J Anat. 1969 Sep;105(Pt 2):403–413. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Spicer S. S., Hardin J. H., Greene W. B. Nuclear precipitates in pyroantimonate-osmium tetroxide-fixed tissues. J Cell Biol. 1968 Oct;39(1):216–221. doi: 10.1083/jcb.39.1.216. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tandler C. J., Libanati C. M., Sanchis C. A. The intracellular localization of inorganic cations with potassium pyroantimonate. Electron microscope and microprobe analysis. J Cell Biol. 1970 May;45(2):355–366. doi: 10.1083/jcb.45.2.355. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tandler C. J., Solari A. J. Nucleolar orthophosphate ions. Electron microscope and diffraction studies. J Cell Biol. 1969 Apr;41(1):91–108. doi: 10.1083/jcb.41.1.91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Tisher C. C., Cirksena W. J., Arstila A. U., Trump B. F. Subcellular localization of sodium in normal and injured proximal tubules of the rat kidney. Am J Pathol. 1969 Nov;57(2):231–251. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES