Biomaterial Database

The application of energy-filtering electron microscopy for the cytochemical localization of Ca(2+)-ATPase activity in synaptic terminals. 1991

K H Körtje, and D Körtje, and H Rahmann

Institute of Zoology, University Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Germany.

The energy-filtering electron microscopical modes of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) have been applied to the cytochemical detection of Ca(2+)-ATPase activity in synaptic terminals in the brain of a cichlid fish. Using a recently developed modification of an enzyme-histochemical method, cerium phosphate was precipitated as a marker of high-affinity Ca(2+)-ATPase activity. This is considered to be a marker for the plasmalemma-bound calcium pump, an enzyme which plays a crucial role in the regulation of the cytoplasmic calcium concentrations and therefore of the reactivity of nerve cells. High-affinity Ca(2+)-ATPase activity is located preferentially at the inner side of synaptic plasma membranes and enables a discrimination of different types of synapse. It is only by using EELS and ESI that the very small amounts of high-affinity Ca(2+)-ATPase reaction product can be analysed reliably and located precisely. These new electron microscopical techniques offer powerful tools for cytochemical studies.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D010471	Perches	A common name for fish of the family Percidae, belonging to the suborder Percoidei, order PERCIFORMES.	Perca,Perch,Percidae
D010710	Phosphates	Inorganic salts of phosphoric acid.	Inorganic Phosphate,Phosphates, Inorganic,Inorganic Phosphates,Orthophosphate,Phosphate,Phosphate, Inorganic
D001921	Brain	The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.	Encephalon
D002563	Cerium	An element of the rare earth family of metals. It has the atomic symbol Ce, atomic number 58, and atomic weight 140.12. Cerium is a malleable metal used in industrial applications.
D006651	Histocytochemistry	Study of intracellular distribution of chemicals, reaction sites, enzymes, etc., by means of staining reactions, radioactive isotope uptake, selective metal distribution in electron microscopy, or other methods.	Cytochemistry
D000252	Calcium-Transporting ATPases	Cation-transporting proteins that utilize the energy of ATP hydrolysis for the transport of CALCIUM. They differ from CALCIUM CHANNELS which allow calcium to pass through a membrane without the use of energy.	ATPase, Calcium,Adenosinetriphosphatase, Calcium,Ca(2+)-Transporting ATPase,Calcium ATPase,Calcium Adenosinetriphosphatase,Adenosine Triphosphatase, Calcium,Ca2+ ATPase,Calcium-ATPase,ATPase, Ca2+,ATPases, Calcium-Transporting,Calcium Adenosine Triphosphatase,Calcium Transporting ATPases,Triphosphatase, Calcium Adenosine
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013057	Spectrum Analysis	The measurement of the amplitude of the components of a complex waveform throughout the frequency range of the waveform. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)	Spectroscopy,Analysis, Spectrum,Spectrometry
D013569	Synapses	Specialized junctions at which a neuron communicates with a target cell. At classical synapses, a neuron's presynaptic terminal releases a chemical transmitter stored in synaptic vesicles which diffuses across a narrow synaptic cleft and activates receptors on the postsynaptic membrane of the target cell. The target may be a dendrite, cell body, or axon of another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle or secretory cell. Neurons may also communicate via direct electrical coupling with ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES. Several other non-synaptic chemical or electric signal transmitting processes occur via extracellular mediated interactions.	Synapse