Summary
Autometallography was used in conjunction with light and electron microscopy to detect traces of gold and mercury in the dorsal root ganglia of rats treated with sodium aurothiomalate and mercuric chloride. In order to differentiate between gold and mercury in tissue sections, the gold accumulations were removed by potassium cyanide, leaving mercury sulphides/selenides as the only possible catalysts for autometallographic development. With this technique, it is now possible to differentiate between all tissue metals capable of initiating the autometallographic process, i.e. gold, vesicular zinc, and sulphides and selenides of mercury and silver.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baatrup, E., Nielsen, M. G. & Danscher, G. (1986) Histochemical demonstration of two mercury pools in trout tissues. Mercury in kidney and liver after mercuric chloride exposure. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 12, 267–82.
Danscher, G. (1981) Localization of gold in biological tissue. A photochemical method for light and electron microscopy. Histochemisiry 71, 81–8.
Danscher, G. (1991) Applications of autometallography to heavy metal toxicology. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 69, 414–23.
Danscher, G. & Møller-Madsen, B. (1985) Silver amplification of mercury sulphide and selenide: a histochemical method for light and electron microscopic localizatiqn of mercury in tissue. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 33, 219–28.
Danscher, G. & Rungby, J. (1986) Differentiation of histochemically visualized mercury and silver. Histochem. J. 18, 109–14.
Danscher, G., Howell, G., Perez-Clausell, J. & Hertel, N. (1985) The dithizone, Timm's sulphide silver and the selenium methods demonstrate a chelatable pool of zinc in CNS. Histochemistry 83, 419–22.
Frederickson, C. J. & Danscher, G. (1986) Hippocampal zinc, the storage granule pool: localization, physiochemistry and possible functions. In Nutritional Modulation of Brain Function (edited by Morley, J., Sterman, M. B. & Walsh, J.) pp. 289–306. New York: Academic Press.
Frederickson, C. J., Perez-Clausell, J. & Danscher, G. (1987) Zinc-containing 7S-NGF complex. Evidence from zinc histochemistry for localization in salivary secretory granules. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 33, 579–83.
Perez-Clausell, J. & Danscher, G. (1985) Intravesicular localization of zinc in rat telencephalic boutons. A histochemical study. Brain Res. 337, 91–8.
Schiønning, J. D., Møller-Madsen, B. & Danscher, G. (1991) Mercury in dorsal root ganglia of rats treated with inorganic or organic mercury. Environ. Res. 56, 48–57.
Schiønning, J. D., Poulsen, E. H., Møller-Madsen, B. & Danscher, G. (1992) Autometallographic demonstration of gold in dorsal root ganglia of rats treated with sodium aurothiomalate. Exp. Mol. Pathol. (accepted).
Timm, F. (1958) Zur Histochemie der Schwermetalle. Das Sulfid-Silber-Verfahren. Dtsch. Z. Gesamte Gerichtl. Med. 46, 706–11.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schiønning, J.D., Danscher, G., Christensen, M.M. et al. Differentiation of silver-enhanced mercury and gold in tissue sections of rat dorsal root ganglia. Histochem J 25, 107–111 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00157981
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00157981