Caveolae preservation in the characterization of human neuromuscular disease
Dr. Robert Edward Lee PhD
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Search for more papers by this authorMs. Ann C. Poulos MS
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Richard F. Mayer MD
Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Dr. John E. Rash PhD
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Department of Anatomy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523Search for more papers by this authorDr. Robert Edward Lee PhD
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Search for more papers by this authorMs. Ann C. Poulos MS
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Search for more papers by this authorDr. Richard F. Mayer MD
Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Dr. John E. Rash PhD
The Department of Anatomy and the Graduate Faculty of Cell and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Department of Anatomy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
We have examined freeze-fracture replicas and conventional thinsection images of rat myofibers prepared by perfusion and by conventional immersion fixation protocols, and myofibers of normal and dystrophic human myofibers prepared by similar immersion fixation methods. In both rat and human myofibers, the size and distribution of caveolae was found to differ substantially according to (1) the method of glutaraldehyde exposure, (2) the depth of the myofiber from the surface exposed to the fixative, and (3) if surgically bisected, the distance from the cut end of the myofiber. Conventional immersion fixation resulted in unavoidable but predictable alterations in sarcolemmal caveolae. These reproducible artifacts of fixation technique substantially complicate the use of caveolae as reliable markers for the characterization of human neuromuscular disease.
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