The golgi apparatus in the cells of tissue cultures

Abstract

Although the Golgi apparatus can be seen in the cells of all tissues prepared by the appropriate cytological technique (9), yet up to the present nobody has succeeded in demonstrating a typical Golgi apparatus in the cells of tissue cultures. This is all the more remarkable since the Golgi apparatus can readily be seen in certain living cells (2, 12), and can be stained intra vitam by Janus green in others, while Brambell and Rau (13) have been able to trace the behaviour of the apparatus during spermatogenesis in Cavia by staining smears of the testis with Janus green, and fixing the cells by the iodine method of M. and W. H. Lewis (6). Recently a paper has been published by Zweibaum and Elkner on the Golgi apparatus in tissue cultures (14). These investigators grew fragments of mesentery in both plasma and serum, and fixed their cultures in a variety of ways. They employed, amongst others, the osmic and silver impregnation methods. In only one case did they get a positive impregnation of the cells. This result was obtained with the silver impregnation method of Da Fano. Among their illustrations they include a figure of a cell with a cluster of black granules grouped towards one side of the nucleus. This is regarded as one form of the apparatus in tissue cultures. Further, in the majority of the cells, which had become flattened out on the under surface of the cover-glass, numerous vacuoles were observed. Some of these were elongated and canalicular in form. Others were irregular. Since nothing but what are described as fat globules became impregnated by the osmic acid method, it was concluded that certain of the vacuolations represented a negative picture of the Golgi apparatus. Zweibaum and Elkner failed completely to trace any intermediate stages between the typical reticulate form of apparatus, and the juxta-nuclear group of granules in their one successful impregnation, and their only reason for regarding certain of the vacuoles as homologous with the Golgi apparatus seems to be that some of them happened to be elongated and tubular in shape.