A-BAND OSMIOPHILIA. ITS MICROSCOPIC DEMONSTRATION WITH SILVER.
Abstract
The relatively specific affinity of osmium tetroxide (OsO4) for the A-bands, or myosin-containing areas, of striated and cardiac muscle from goats and rabbits is demonstrated. A silver-methenamine (Ag-Me) reagent was used so that this A-band osmiophilia could be identified by electron and light microscopy. Histochemical reactions indicate that the OsO4 forms a partially reduced complex with the amino and/or guanido groups of the A-band protein through coordinate covalent bonds. This partially reduced complex then reduces the Ag-Me reagent as it itself is oxidized. The reduced silver precipitates along the muscle A-band, giving a selective stain for that muscle component at the electron or light microscopic level. The presence of OsO4 in the A-bands was also verified by reducing the osmium to a black compound with sulfurous acid and phenylenediamine and by forming a red complex of osmium with alpha-naphthylamine. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0825251
Entities
People
- Brian Schofield
- Jacob Lundy
- Jacob Y. Terner
- John H. Thompson