Ultrastructural Organization of Cultured Macrophages as Shown by Negative Staining Technique

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Abstract
Mouse peritoneal macrophages were cultured on the grids coated with formvar, and then examined by electron microscopy, in situ, after fixation and negative staining. By this technique, the ultrastructural organization in the whole cells could be visualized readily and distinctly. The pseudopodia of individual macrophages were usually spread without piling up, leaving narrow interstices among them, even when the macrophages were cultured densely. Mitochondria appeared to be radiated from a site in the perinuclear region to the periphery, giving the impression that there was seemingly a mitochondrion center. Microtubules were closely associated with endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasmic bodies in the thick pseudopodia. The tips of the pseudopodia, or the thin ectoplamic zone, were composed of an ill-defined filamentous network. Baby hamster kidney cells (BHK-21) were observed with ultrathin sectioning as well as with the negative staining technique. Both electron micrographs showed almost the same details of the internal organization.