Fixation in aldehydes. A study on the influence of the fixative, buffer, and osmolarity upon the fixation of the rat retina

On the long-term storage of tissue for fluorescence and electron microscopy: lessons learned from rat liver samples

Occasionally, tissue samples cannot be processed completely and are stored under varying conditions for extended periods. This is particularly beneficial in interinstitutional studies where a given research setting may lack the expertise or infrastructure for sample processing, imaging and data analysis. Currently, there is limited literature available on the controlled storage of biological tissues in primary fixatives for fluorescence and electron microscopy. In this contribution, we mimicked various tissue storage scenarios by taking different fixation conditions, storage temperatures and storage durations into account. Rat liver tissue was used for its well-known diversity of cellular ultrastructure and microscopy analysis. Fluorescent labelling of actin, DNA and lipids were employed in conjunction with high-resolution electron microscopy imaging. Herein, we tested three different fixative solutions (1.5% glutaraldehyde, 0.4% glutaraldehyde and 4% formaldehyde and 4% formaldehyde) and stored samples for 1-28 days at room temperature and refrigerator temperature. We found that liver tissue can be stored for up to 2 weeks in a 0.4% glutaraldehyde + 4% formaldehyde fixative solution, while still enabling reliable fluorescent labelling and ultrastructural studies. Ultrastructural integrity was eminent up to 1 month using either glutaraldehyde or formaldehyde fixation protocols. When liver tissue is fixed with a mixture of 0.4% glutaraldehyde and 4% formaldehyde and stored at 4 °C, it retains its capacity for electron microscopy analysis for several years, but loses its capacity for reliable fluorescent labelling studies. In conclusion, we demonstrated that liver tissue can be stored for extended periods enabling profound structure-function analysis across length scales.

Influence of water based embedding media composition on the relaxation properties of fixed tissue

BACKGROUND

In MRI of formalin-fixed tissue one of the problems is the dependence of tissue relaxation properties on formalin composition and composition of embedding medium (EM) used for scanning. In this study, we investigated molecular mechanisms by which the EM composition affects T2 relaxation directly and T1 relaxation indirectly.

OBJECTIVE

To identify principal components of formaldehyde based EM and the mechanism by which they affect relaxation properties of fixed tissue.

METHODS

We recorded high resolution ¹H NMR spectra of common formalin fixatives at temperatures in the range of 5 °C to 45 °C. We also measured T1 and T2 relaxation times of various organs of formalin fixed (FF) zebrafish at 7 T at 21 °C and 31 °C in several EM with and without fixative or gadolinium contrast agents.

RESULTS

We showed that the major source of T2 variability is chemical exchange between protons from EM hydroxyls and water, mediated by the presence of phosphate ions. The exchange rate increases with temperature, formaldehyde concentration in EM and phosphate concentration in EM. Depending on which side of the coalescence the system resides, the temperature increase can lead to either shortening or prolongation of T2, or to no noticeable change at all when very close to the coalescence. Chemical exchange can be minimized by washing out from EM the fixative, the phosphate or both.

CONCLUSION

The dependence of T2 in fixed tissue on the fixative origin and composition described in prior literature could be attributed to the phosphate buffer accelerated chemical exchange among the fixative hydroxyls and the tissue water. More consistent results in the relaxation measurements could be obtained by stricter control of the fixative composition or by scanning fixed tissue in PBS without fixative.

Glutaraldehyde - A Subtle Tool in the Investigation of Healthy and Pathologic Red Blood Cells

Glutaraldehyde is a well-known substance used in biomedical research to fix cells. Since hemolytic anemias are often associated with red blood cell shape changes deviating from the biconcave disk shape, conservation of these shapes for imaging in general and 3D-imaging in particular, like confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy or scanning probe microscopy is a common desire. Along with the fixation comes an increase in the stiffness of the cells. In the context of red blood cells this increased rigidity is often used to mimic malaria infected red blood cells because they are also stiffer than healthy red blood cells. However, the use of glutaraldehyde is associated with numerous pitfalls: (i) while the increase in rigidity by an application of increasing concentrations of glutaraldehyde is an analog process, the fixation is a rather digital event (all or none); (ii) addition of glutaraldehyde massively changes osmolality in a concentration dependent manner and hence cell shapes can be distorted; (iii) glutaraldehyde batches differ in their properties especially in the ratio of monomers and polymers; (iv) handling pitfalls, like inducing shear artifacts of red blood cell shapes or cell density changes that needs to be considered, e.g., when working with cells in flow; (v) staining glutaraldehyde treated red blood cells need different approaches compared to living cells, for instance, because glutaraldehyde itself induces a strong fluorescence. Within this paper we provide documentation about the subtle use of glutaraldehyde on healthy and pathologic red blood cells and how to deal with or circumvent pitfalls.

Evaluation of standard imaging techniques and volumetric preservation of nervous tissue in genetically identical offspring of the crayfish Procambarus fallax cf. virginalis (Marmorkrebs)

In the field of comparative neuroanatomy, a meaningful interspecific comparison demands quantitative data referring to method-specific artifacts. For evaluating the potential of state-of-the-art imaging techniques in arthropod neuroanatomy, micro-computed X-ray microscopy (μCT) and two different approaches using confocal laser-scanning microscopy (cLSM) were applied to obtain volumetric data of the brain and selected neuropils in Procambarus fallax forma virginalis (Crustacea, Malacostraca, Decapoda). The marbled crayfish P. fallax cf. virginalis features a parthogenetic reproduction generating genetically identical offspring from unfertilized eggs. Therefore, the studied organism provides ideal conditions for the comparative analysis of neuroanatomical imaging techniques and the effect of preceding sample preparations of nervous tissue. We found that wet scanning of whole animals conducted with μCT turned out to be the least disruptive method. However, in an additional experiment it was discovered that fixation in Bouin’s solution, required for μCT scans, resulted in an average tissue shrinkage of 24% compared to freshly dissected and unfixed brains. The complete sample preparation using fixation in half-strength Karnovsky’s solution of dissected brains led to an additional volume decrease of 12.5%, whereas the preparation using zinc-formaldehyde as fixative resulted in a shrinkage of 5% in comparison to the volumes obtained by μCT. By minimizing individual variability, at least for aquatic arthropods, this pioneer study aims for the inference of method-based conversion factors in the future, providing a valuable tool for reducing quantitative neuroanatomical data already published to a common denominator. However, volumetric deviations could be shown for all experimental protocols due to methodological noise and/or phenotypic plasticity among genetically identical individuals. MicroCT using undried tissue is an appropriate non-disruptive technique for allometry of arthropod brains since spatial organ relationships are conserved and tissue shrinkage is minimized. Collecting tissue-based shrinkage factors according to specific sample preparations might allow a better comparability of volumetric data from the literature, even if another technique was applied.

Fixation strategies for retinal immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemical and ex vivo anatomical studies have provided many glimpses of the variety, distribution, and signaling components of vertebrate retinal neurons. The beauty of numerous images published to date, and the qualitative and quantitative information they provide, indicate that these approaches are fundamentally useful. However, obtaining these images entailed tissue handling and exposure to chemical solutions that differ from normal extracellular fluid in composition, temperature, and osmolarity. Because the differences are large enough to alter intercellular and intracellular signaling in neurons, and because retinae are susceptible to crush, shear, and fray, it is natural to wonder if immunohistochemical and anatomical methods disturb or damage the cells they are designed to examine. Tissue fixation is typically incorporated to guard against this damage and is therefore critically important to the quality and significance of the harvested data. Here, we describe mechanisms of fixation; advantages and disadvantages of using formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde as fixatives during immunohistochemistry; and modifications of widely used protocols that have recently been found to improve cell shape preservation and immunostaining patterns, especially in proximal retinal neurons.

Histamine compartments of the Drosophila brain with an estimate of the quantum content at the photoreceptor synapse

Reliable estimates of the quantum size in histaminergic neurons are not available. We have exploited two unusual opportunities in the fly's (Drosophila melanogaster) visual system to make such determinations for histaminergic photoreceptor synapses: 1) the possibility to microdissect successively from whole fly heads freeze-dried in acetone: the compound eyes; the first optic neuropils, or lamina; and the rest of the brain; and 2) the uniform sheaves of lamina synaptic terminals of photoreceptors R1-R6. We used this organization to count scrupulously the numbers of 30-nm synaptic vesicles from electron micrographs of R1-R6 profiles, and from microdissections we determined the regional contents of histamine in the compound eye, lamina, and central brain. Total head histamine averages 1.98 ng of which 9% was lost after freeze-drying in acetone and a further 28% after the brain was microdissected. Of the remainder, 71% was in the eye and lamina. Assuming that histamine loss from the tissue occurred mostly by diffusion evenly distributed among all regions, the overall lamina content of the head would be 0.1935 ng before dissection. From published values for the volumes of the brain's compartments, the computed regional concentrations of histamine are highest in the lamina (4.35 mM) because of the terminals of R1-R6. The concentration in the retina is approximately 13% that in the lamina, suggesting that most histamine is vesicular. There are approximately 43,500 +/- 7,400 (SD) synaptic vesicles per terminal and, if all histamine is allocated equally and exclusively among these, the vesicle contents would be 858 +/- 304 x 10(-21) moles or approximately 5,000 +/- 1,800 (SD) molecules at an approximate concentration of 670 mM. These values are compared with the vesicle contents at synapses using acetylcholine and catecholamines.

Subcellular distribution of glutamate decarboxylase in rat olfactory bulb: high content in dendrodendritic synaptosomes

The olfactory bulbs in the CNS contain reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses between the granule cells and the secondary dendrites of mitral cells. Based on pharmacologic and electrophysiologic evidence, these synapses are believed to utilize GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. A dendrodendritic synaptosomal fraction has been isolated from rat olfactory bulbs. The upper portion (PB) of the crude nuclear pellet contains 30-40% of the GAD (glutamate decarboxylase) activity of the olfactory bulb homogenate. When PB is purified on a discontinuous sucrose density gradient, 78-85% of the GAD activity is localized to the region containing the dendrodendritic synaptosomes, which were identified by transmission electron microscopy. The presence of a substantial proportion of GAD, the enzyme that catalyzes synthesis of GABA, in the DDS provides neurochemical support for the hypothesis that GABA functions at the reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses in the olfactory bulb.

Cellular reactions to small cerebral stab wounds in the rat frontal lobe. An ultrastructural study

Small stab wounds were made in the frontal lobe of adult rats by the insertion of a glass capillary or a steel needle with a diameter of 50 mum. Macroscopically, there was a minute lesion filled with red blood cells. Ultrastructurally, there was a prominent edema with 200 mum from the wound during the first 3 days. There was an invasion of neutrophilic leukocytes, monocytes, and pericytes during the first postoperative week and a subsequent phagocytosis of necrotic devris during the first 2 weeks. Neurons within 150-200 mum from the wound degenerated and became phagocytized by macrophages. Astrocytes showed a transitional swelling, later followed by an accumulation of glycogen and filaments. Oligodendrocytes as well as astrocytes took part in phagocytosis. The most prominent early reaction of oligodendrocytes was the formation of multiple vacuoles and, in less injured cells, pinocytotic vesicles. Many cells with a morphology intermediate between the usual appearances of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes were seen. Some of these cells were similar to "third type of neuroglial cells." It was concluded that the healing of this type of small stab wounds occurred in a very regular way. Morpholocially, very little necrosis was seen, but there was a profound reactivity both in invading hematogeneous phagocytes, i.e., neutrophilic leukocytes and monocytes, and in neuroglial cells. Thus, the present type of trauma might be considered a useful model for studying events in healing of brain injuries.

The function of the retina in the perfused eye

The data show that the enucleated eye of the cat can be maintained in apparently physiologically functioning condition by appropriate arterial perfusion. Under appropriate conditions, photically evoked electrical mass responses can be recorded from various parts of the isolated, perfused eye for 8 to 10 hours. ERGs as well as responses from axonal bundles of the optic nerve exhibit shapes, amplitudes and time courses comparable to their counterparts in vivo. Homeostasis of the perfusion ensures the stability of these light-evoked electrical responses. Transient changes in biophysical parameters of the perfusate rapidly induce marked, although reversible, changes in the amplitudes of b-waves of the ERGs. Increases or decreases in the flow rate of the perfusate induce parallel increases or decreases in the amplitudes of the b-waves as well as of the optic nerve responses. Similar alterations in the oxygen concentration of the perfusate induce similar and proportional changes in the amplitudes of the b-waves. It is concluded, that low flow rates of hemoglobin-free perfusate induce hypoxia; consequently, acceleration of the flow can compensate for hypoxia in a certain range. Previous studies on the effects of and recovery after transient hypoxia in mammalian retina are in concordance with the present data. Progressive decrease of temperature induces gradual and reversible reductions in the amplitudes of the b-waves and increases their latencies and peak-times. It is suggested, that initial hypothermia, which occurs during the period of cannulation, reduces the deliterious effects of the coincident unavoidable hypoxia on retinal neuronal elements. Since light-evoked electrical responses can be maintained for many hours in these preparations and since movements of cardiovascular and respiratory origin, invariably present to varying extent in the in vivo experiments, are eliminated, this preparation is suitable for intracellular recordings from neuronal elements of the retina. Potentials were recorded from cells in various layers of the retina of the cat; intracellular recordings from horizontal cells (S-potentials) are described in detail. Spectral analysis of S-potentials allowed to distinguish between three types according to their inputs: a mixed, rod-cone type, which was most frequently encountered, a pure cone- and a pure rod-type. Light- and electronmicroscopic investigation of the retina after perfusion revealed that (1) the extent of cellular damage depends on the flow rate of the perfusate; (2) little cellular damage is observed if medium flow rates, which maintain physiologic responsiveness of the isolated eye to light, were applied for two hours; (3) high flow rates applied for two hours, or medium flow rates applied for 7 hours appear to induce cystic changes in the pigment epithelium, but only minor changes in the cells of the inner nuclear layer.

X-ray microanalysis of mast cells in rat's muscle

Mast cells from rat's tongue muscles, fixed with glutaraldehyde only, were examined with an electron microscopic microanalyzer - the EMMA-4. With the preparatory method used, high emissions of a number of elements were obtained in various intracellular spots. The granules of mast cells were found to contain strictly localized high concentrations of sulphur, calcium and zinc.

Morphological effects of osmolarity on purified noradrenergic vesicles

Large dense core vesicles (LDV) were purified from bovine splenic nerve homogenates by the sucrose-D2O density gradient method. Vesicles were subjected to a 50% increase and decrease in osmolarity from the control 330 mosmol 1(-1) by adjusting sucrose or potassium phosphate buffer during pre- and/or postfixation. Control vesicles with a mean diameter of 717 A readily swelled to approximately 1050 A and shrunk to approximately 600 A in the hypotonic and hypertonic media, respectively, with either sucrose or phosphate buffer. The dense core responded similarly but to a lesser degree. Prefixation in glutaraldehyde had little effect on vesicle sensitivity to subsequent tonicity change, not did the fixative per se exert an obvious osmotic effect. Thus, final vesicle size was largely determined by the OsO4 postfixation medium and principally by the vehicle rather than the fixative. In controls there was a mixture of spherical to oblate vesicles mostly filled with an electron-dense matrix. Upon swelling, more vesicles became spherical and nearly all had a prominent translucent halo between core and membrane. Upon shrinking, more vesicles became oblate, the halo was obliterated and the electron-density of the matrix increased. Frequency distributions of vesicle diameters at different tonicity clearly indicated that the diameter of LDV could overlap the 400-500 A range characteristic of small dense core vesicles; however, there was no suggestion of a population of the latter in the purified LDV fraction. Implications are discussed concerning the biochemical and morphological identification of 'light' and 'heavy' density peaks of noradrenaline and dopamine beta-hydroxylase from mixed vesicle populations and the possible relevance of changes in vesicle shape to a functional state in situ.

A simplified method of specimen preparation for X-ray microanalysis of muscle and blood cells

The effect of various steps in the preparation of muscle and blood cells for electron microscopic X-ray microanalysis, was studied with reference to calcium, zinc and copper levels. It was found that these elements are readily detectable in material fixed in glutaraldehyde and embedded directly in Epon 812. Alcohol dehydration, buffer rinses and post-osmication caused marked depletion of all elements examined.