Cytoplasmic structure in rapid-frozen axons.

Author:

Schnapp B J,Reese T S

Abstract

Turtle optic nerves were rapid-frozen from the living state, fractured, etched, and rotary shadowed. Stereo views of fractured axons show that axoplasm consists of three types of longitudinally oriented domains. One type consists of neurofilament bundles in which individual filaments are interconnected by a cross-bridging network. Contiguous to neurofilament domains are domains containing microtubules suspended in a loose, granular matrix. A third domain is confined to a zone, 80-100 nm wide, next to the axonal membrane and consists of a dense filamentous network connecting the longitudinal elements of the axonal cytoskeleton to particles on the inner surface of the axolemma. Three classes of membrane-limited organelles are distinguished: axoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and discrete vesicular organelles. The vesicular organelles must include lysosomes, multivesicular bodies, and vesicles which are retrogradely transported in axons, though some vesicular organelles may be components of the axoplasmic reticulum. Organelles in each class have a characteristic relationship to the axonal cytoskeleton. The axoplasmic reticulum enters all three domains of axoplasm, but mitochondria and vesicular organelles are excluded from the neurofilament bundles, a distribution confirmed in thin sections of cryoembedded axons. Vesicular organelles differ from mitochondria in at least three ways with respect to their relationships to adjacent axoplasm: (a) one, or sometimes both, of their ends are associated with a gap in the surrounding granular axoplasm; (b) an appendage is typically associated with one of their ends; and (c) they are not attached or closely apposed to microtubules. Mitochondria, on the other hand, are only rarely associated with gaps in the axoplasm, do not have an appendage, and are virtually always attached to one or more microtubules by an irregular array of side-arms. We propose that the longitudinally oriented microtubule domains are channels within which organelles are transported. We also propose that the granular material in these channels may constitute the myriad enzymes and other nonfibrous components that slowly move down the axon.

Publisher

Rockefeller University Press

Subject

Cell Biology

Cited by 207 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3