Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1972 May 1;53(2):483–493. doi: 10.1083/jcb.53.2.483

INORGANIC CATIONS IN THE CELL NUCLEUS

Selective Accumulation during Meiotic Prophase in Mouse Testis

Laura L Tres 1, A L Kierszenbaum 1, C J Tandler 1
PMCID: PMC2108725  PMID: 4112542

Abstract

Earlier reports indicated the presence of significant amounts of inorganic salts in the nucleus. In the present study the possibility that this might be related to the transcription process was tested on seminiferous epithelium of the adult mouse, using potassium pyroantimonate as a fixative. The results indicated that a correlation exists between the inorganic cations comprising the pyroantimonate-precipitable fraction and the RNA synthetic activity. During meiotic prophase an accumulation of cation-antimonate precipitates occurs dispersed through the middle pachytene nuclei, the stage in which RNA synthesis reaches a maximum. At other stages (zygotene to diplotene), where RNA synthesis falls to a low level, that pattern is not seen; cation-antimonate deposits are restricted to a few masses in areas apparently free of chromatin. The condensed sex chromosomes, the heterochromatin of the "basal knobs," the axial elements, and the synaptonemal complexes are devoid of antimonate deposits during the meiotic prophase. The Sertoli cells, active in RNA synthesis in both nucleoplasm and nucleolus, show cation-antimonate deposits at these sites. In the nucleoplasm some "patches" of precipitates appear coincident with clusters of interchromatin granules; in the nucleolus the inorganic cations are mainly located in the fibrillar and/or amorphous areas, whereas relatively few are shown by the granular component. The condensed chromatin bodies associated with the nucleolus were always free of antimonate precipitates. It is suggested that the observed sites of inorganic cation accumulation within the nucleus may at least partially indicate the presence of RNA polymerases, the activity of which is dependent on divalent cations.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.3 MB).

Selected References

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

  1. Callan H. G., Taylor J. H. A radioautographic study of the time course of male meiosis in the newt Triturus vulgaris. J Cell Sci. 1968 Dec;3(4):615–626. doi: 10.1242/jcs.3.4.615. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Fakan S., Bernhard W. Localisation of rapidly and slowly labelled nuclear RNA as visualized by high resolution autoradiography. Exp Cell Res. 1971 Jul;67(1):129–141. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(71)90628-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fawcett D. W., Eddy E. M., Phillips D. M. Observations on the fine structure and relationships of the chromatoid body in mammalian spermatogenesis. Biol Reprod. 1970 Feb;2(1):129–153. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod2.1.129. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GRANBOULAN N., GRANBOULAN P. CYTOCHIMIE ULTRASTRUCTURALE DU NUCL'EOLE. II. ETUDE DES SITES DE SYNTH'ESE DU RNA DANS LE NUCL'EOLE ET LE NOYAU. Exp Cell Res. 1965 Jun;38:604–619. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(65)90384-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jacob S. T., Sajdel E. M., Munro H. N. Presence of two RNA polymerase activities in liver nucleoli. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1968 Apr 22;157(2):421–423. doi: 10.1016/0005-2787(68)90098-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kierszenbaum A. L., Tres L. L., Tandler C. J. The distribution of inorganic cations during spermiogenesis in the mouse. J Cell Biol. 1972 Apr;53(1):239–243. doi: 10.1083/jcb.53.1.239. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kofman-Alfaro S., Chandley A. C. Meiosis in the male mouse. An autoradiographic investigation. Chromosoma. 1970;31(4):404–420. doi: 10.1007/BF00285832. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. MONESI V. RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS DURING MITOSIS AND MEIOSIS IN THE MOUSE TESTIS. J Cell Biol. 1964 Sep;22:521–532. doi: 10.1083/jcb.22.3.521. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. MOSES M. J. Chromosomal structures in crayfish spermatocytes. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1956 Mar 25;2(2):215–218. doi: 10.1083/jcb.2.2.215. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Monesi V. Synthetic activities during spermatogenesis in the mouse RNA and protein. Exp Cell Res. 1965 Aug;39(1):197–224. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(65)90023-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Monneron A., Bernhard W. Fine structural organization of the interphase nucleus in some mammalian cells. J Ultrastruct Res. 1969 May;27(3):266–288. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(69)80017-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Moses M. J. Structure and function of the synaptonemal complex. Genetics. 1969;61(1 Suppl):41–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. OAKBERG E. F. A description of spermiogenesis in the mouse and its use in analysis of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and germ cell renewal. Am J Anat. 1956 Nov;99(3):391–413. doi: 10.1002/aja.1000990303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Okazaki K., Shull K. H., Farber E. Effects of ethionine on adenosine triphosphate levels and ionic composition of liver cell nuclei. J Biol Chem. 1968 Sep 25;243(18):4661–4666. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Petrov P., Bernhard W. Experimentally induced changes of extranucleolar ribonucleoprotein components of the interphase nucleus. J Ultrastruct Res. 1971 May;35(3):386–402. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(71)80165-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. SOLARI A. J. THE MORPHOLOGY AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE SEX VESICLE IN THE MOUSE. Exp Cell Res. 1964 Oct;36:160–168. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(64)90169-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Siebert G., Langendorf H. Ionenhaushalt im Zellkern. Naturwissenschaften. 1970 Mar;57(3):119–124. doi: 10.1007/BF00600046. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Solari A. J. The evolution of the ultrastructure of the sex chromosomes (sex vesicle) during meiotic prophase in mouse spermatocytes. J Ultrastruct Res. 1969 May;27(3):289–305. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(69)80018-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Solari A. J., Tres L. L. The three-dimensional reconstruction of the XY chromosomal pair in human spermatocytes. J Cell Biol. 1970 Apr;45(1):43–53. doi: 10.1083/jcb.45.1.43. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Solari A. J., Tres L. L. The ultrastructure of the human sex vesicle. Chromosoma. 1967;22(1):16–31. doi: 10.1007/BF00291284. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Solari A. J., Tres L. The localization of nucleic acids and the argentaffin substance in the sex vesicle of mouse spermatocytes. Exp Cell Res. 1967 Aug;47(1):86–96. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(67)90212-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. 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]
  23. Tandler C. J., Kierszenbaum A. L. Inorganic cations in rat kidney. Localization with potassium pyroantimonate--perfusion fixation. J Cell Biol. 1971 Sep;50(3):830–839. doi: 10.1083/jcb.50.3.830. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. 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]
  25. 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]
  26. WOOLLAM D. H., FORD E. H. THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE MAMMALIAN CHROMOSOME IN MEIOTIC PROPHASE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE SYNAPTINEMAL COMPLEX. J Anat. 1964 Apr;98:163–173. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES