Summary
The results of an objective two- and three-dimensional analysis of the morphological features of normal and triolein-induced mouse peritoneal macrophages are reported. An “equivalent circle“ technique for resolving the effects of volume and surface area on volume-to-surface parameters is described. The method is a simple comparative one which does not require the actual determination of cell volume.
Macrophage stimulation promoted increases in mean cell size, cytoplasmic granularity and volume-to-surface ratio. In addition, a reduction in nuclear volume-to-surface ratio accompanied in vivo stimulation. Nucleocytoplasmic ratio remained constant. The equivalent circle procedure showed that the increase in cellular volume-to-surface ratio was due largely to the increase in cell volume; the decrease in nuclear volume-to-surface ratio was primarily the result of a substantial increase in nuclear membrane surface area. Stereological estimations suggest that interiorized cell membrane (in the form of triolein-containing phagosomes) is replaced by newly reconstructed surface membrane.
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Williams, M.A., Mayhew, T.M. Quantitative microscopical studies of the mouse peritoneal macrophage following stimulation in vivo . Z.Zellforsch 140, 187–202 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306694
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306694