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Immunoelectron Microscopy of Gangliosides

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Gangliosides

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1804))

Abstract

Because chemical fixatives like aldehydes do not work on most lipid molecules in the membrane, small-scale lipid distribution cannot be identified by immunoelectron microscopy in cells fixed by conventional methods. Here we describe a method for physically stabilizing membranes through quick-freezing and freeze-fracture replica formation and for specifically labeling gangliosides for electron microscopy. This method enables the ultrahigh-resolution mapping of membrane lipids including gangliosides within the two-dimensional plane of membranes.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of the Government of Japan to TT (17K15544) and TF (15H02500, 15H05902).

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Correspondence to Toyoshi Fujimoto .

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Tsuji, T., Fujita, A., Fujimoto, T. (2018). Immunoelectron Microscopy of Gangliosides. In: Sonnino, S., Prinetti, A. (eds) Gangliosides. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1804. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8552-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8552-4_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8551-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8552-4

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