Open AccessRethinking cell structure.
Author(s) -
Sheldon Penman
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.92.12.5251
Subject(s) - cytoplasm , electron microscope , nuclear matrix , embedment , nucleus , cell function , biophysics , mitosis , microscopy , cytoskeleton , matrix (chemical analysis) , cell structure , cell , chemistry , nanotechnology , crystallography , materials science , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , optics , physics , chromatin , biochemistry , dna , composite material , chromatography
Cell structure, emerging from behind the veil of conventional electron microscopy, appears far more complex than formerly realized. The standard plastic-embedded, ultrathin section can image only what is on the section surface and masks the elaborate networks of the cytoplasm and nucleus. Embedment-free electron microscopy gives clear, high-contrast micrographs of cell structure when combined with removal of obscuring material such as soluble proteins. The resinless ultrathin section is the technique of choice; it is simple and inexpensive, and it uses ordinary electron microscopes. The resulting pictures reveal a world of complex cell structure and function. These images necessarily change our conception of the cytoskeleton, nuclear matrix, mitosis, and the relation of membranes to cytostructure.