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High concentration of phosphorus is a distinctive feature of myelin. An X‐Ray elemental microanalysis study using freeze‐fracture scanning electron microscopy of rat sciatic nerve
Author(s) -
Oliveira Maria João,
Águas Artur P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.22506
Subject(s) - myelin , microanalysis , scanning electron microscope , myelin sheath , phosphorus , electron microscope , sciatic nerve , resolution (logic) , peripheral nerve , chemistry , microscopy , nerve cells , biophysics , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , pathology , anatomy , biology , chromatography , microbiology and biotechnology , optics , composite material , central nervous system , neuroscience , organic chemistry , medicine , physics , artificial intelligence , computer science
We have used rat sciatic nerves submitted to freezing and freeze‐fracture to determine the elemental composition of small domains of the peripheral nerve studied at high resolution by scanning electron microscopy. We found that myelin of Schwann cells is unique in its high content in phosphorus (P) that was more than 10 times higher than P measured in any other cells. This high concentration in P makes myelin chemistry suitable of monitoring at the subcellular level using the herein described methodology. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:537–539, 2015 . © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.