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Evidence of membrane transformation during melanogenesis. Electron microscopic study on the retinal pigment epithelium of chick embryos

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Summary

Some characteristics of early premelanosomes (PM) suggest that primarily a continuous cisternal complex of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is transformed simultaneously to PM. These characteristics are: (i) the form and size, which are similar to ER cisternae; (ii) the localization in groups in the ER; (iii) the same stage of maturation within a group; (iv) the continuities between early PM, and (v) the lack of continuities between ER and PM. Comparative measurements reveal that the limiting membrane of PM, with a total thickness of 7.6±0.19 nm and a center-to-center distance of 5.2±0.06 nm, is significantly thicker than the ER membrane (6.3±0.15 nm and 4.3±0.04 nm, respectively) and the melanosome limiting membrane (6.5±0.22nm and 4.4±0.05 nm, respectively). Therefore, during the formation of melanosomes, the limiting membrane must be transformed from a thin (ER) to a thick (PM) and again to a thin (melanosome) state.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Anatomie, Arbeitsgruppe für Mikromorphologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Bundesrepublik Deutschland

    P. Stanka, P. Rathjen & B. Sahlmann

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  1. P. Stanka
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  2. P. Rathjen
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  3. B. Sahlmann
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Stanka, P., Rathjen, P. & Sahlmann, B. Evidence of membrane transformation during melanogenesis. Electron microscopic study on the retinal pigment epithelium of chick embryos. Cell Tissue Res. 214, 343–353 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249216

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