Research Article

Electron Microscopy in Rat Brain Slices Reveals Rapid Accumulation of Cisplatin on Ribosomes and Other Cellular Components Only in Glia

Figure 1

(a) Transverse cut of a small venule in the hippocampal area of a rat brain slice. The lumen of the blood vessel is marked by the letter “L.” A pericyte and specifically its endoplasmatic reticulum (orange arrow) that accumulated cisplatin are visible, while its nucleus is less stained (blue arrow). Also visible are astrocyte end-feet with mitochondria (green arrow). Membranes and mitochondria of endothelium cells are also visible. ((b) and (c)) Prominent accumulation of cisplatin in myelin of oligodendrocytes forming the sheath around nerve trunks in rat hippocampus. Orange arrows show the myelin, revealing that cisplatin probably reacts directly with some component of the myelin sheath, while there was no staining of nerve trunks themselves. (d) Rough endoplasmic reticulum in an astrocyte revealed by cisplatin. The orange arrow points to some ER cisternae, while the small black spots are the cisplatin-stained ribosomes. (e) Rough endoplasmic reticulum (orange arrow) and free ribosomes (blue arrow) in an astrocyte cell body (high magnification), showing ribosomes with adhered cisplatin. Scale: 1 micron for (a), (b), (c), and (d); 500 nM for (e).
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