Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1964 Oct 1;120(4):569–576. doi: 10.1084/jem.120.4.569

ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDIES ON THE DEGRANULATION OF RABBIT PERITONEAL LEUKOCYTES DURING PHAGOCYTOSIS

Dorothea Zucker-Franklin 1, James G Hirsch 1
PMCID: PMC2137771  PMID: 14212120

Abstract

Electron microscopic observations have established the mechanisms underlying degranulation of neutrophils and eosinophils during phagocytosis. The content of the granules is released into the phagocytic vacuole when their membranes fuse with the membrane lining the vacuole. The discharge mechanism appears to be applicable to the various morphological types of granules seen in rabbit polymorphs. It has been proposed that the release of material to the outside of the cell or the discharge of material into intracellular vacuoles, events involving membrane fusion, be termed "exoplasmosis."

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.6 MB).

Selected References

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

  1. ARCHER G. T., HIRSCH J. G. MOTION PICTURE STUDIES ON DEGRANULATION OF HORSE EOSINOPHILS DURING PHAGOCYTOSIS. J Exp Med. 1963 Aug 1;118:287–294. doi: 10.1084/jem.118.2.287. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. COHN Z. A., HIRSCH J. G. The isolation and properties of the specific cytoplasmic granules of rabbit polymorphonuclear leucocytes. J Exp Med. 1960 Dec 1;112:983–1004. doi: 10.1084/jem.112.6.983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. DAEMS W. T., OORT J. Electron microscopic and histochemical observatons on polymorphonuclear leucocytes in the reversed Arthus reaction. Exp Cell Res. 1962 Oct;28:11–20. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(62)90307-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GOODMAN J. R., MOORE R. E. Electron microscopic study of phagocytosis of Staphylococcus by human leukocytes. J Bacteriol. 1956 May;71(5):547–556. doi: 10.1128/jb.71.5.547-556.1956. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HIRSCH J. G., BERNHEIMER A. W., WEISSMANN G. MOTION PICTURE STUDY OF THE TOXIC ACTION OF STREPTOLYSINS ON LEUCOCYTES. J Exp Med. 1963 Aug 1;118:223–228. doi: 10.1084/jem.118.2.223. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HIRSCH J. G., COHN Z. A. Degranulation of polymorphonuclear leucocytes following phagocytosis of microorganisms. J Exp Med. 1960 Dec 1;112:1005–1014. doi: 10.1084/jem.112.6.1005. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. HIRSCH J. G. Cinemicrophotographic observations on granule lysis in polymorphonuclear leucocytes during phagocytosis. J Exp Med. 1962 Dec 1;116:827–834. doi: 10.1084/jem.116.6.827. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HIRSCH J. G. Phagocytin: a bactericidal substance from polymorphonuclear leucocytes. J Exp Med. 1956 May 1;103(5):589–611. doi: 10.1084/jem.103.5.589. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LILLIBRIDGE C. B. Membranes of the human pepsinogen granule. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 May;10:145–149. doi: 10.1083/jcb.10.1.145. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LOCKWOOD W. R., ALLISON F. ELECTRON MICROGRAPHIC STUDIES OF PHAGOCYTIC CELLS. I. MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF THE CYTOPLASM AND GRANULES OF RABBIT GRANULOCYTES ASSOCIATED WITH INGESTION OF ROUGH PNEUMOCOCCUS. Br J Exp Pathol. 1963 Dec;44:593–600. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. LUFT J. H. Improvements in epoxy resin embedding methods. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Feb;9:409–414. doi: 10.1083/jcb.9.2.409. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MILLONIG G. A modified procedure for lead staining of thin sections. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Dec;11:736–739. doi: 10.1083/jcb.11.3.736. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. PEASE D. C. An electron microscopic study of red bone marrow. Blood. 1956 Jun;11(6):501–526. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. REVEL J. P. ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF GLYCOGEN. J Histochem Cytochem. 1964 Feb;12:104–114. doi: 10.1177/12.2.104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. ROBINEAUX J., FREDERIC J. Contribution à l'étude des granulations neutrophiles des polynucléaires par la microcinématographie en contraste de phase. C R Seances Soc Biol Fil. 1955 Mar;149(5-6):486–489. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WATSON M. L. Staining of tissue sections for electron microscopy with heavy metals. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1958 Jul 25;4(4):475–478. doi: 10.1083/jcb.4.4.475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. WOODIN A. M., FRENCH J. E., MARCHESI V. T. Morphological changes associated with the extrusion of protein induced in the polymorphonuclear leucocyte by staphylococcal leucocidin. Biochem J. 1963 Jun;87:567–571. doi: 10.1042/bj0870567. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. YAMAMOTO T. On the thickness of the unit membrane. J Cell Biol. 1963 May;17:413–421. doi: 10.1083/jcb.17.2.413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. ZEBRUN W., MOLLENHAUER H. H. Electron microscopic observations on mitochondria of rat testes fixed in potassium permanganate. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Apr;7:311–314. doi: 10.1083/jcb.7.2.311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. ZUCKER-FRANKLIN D. THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF CELLS IN HUMAN THORACIC DUCT LYMPH. J Ultrastruct Res. 1963 Oct;59:325–339. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(63)80010-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES