Summary
Studies have been made on the effects of an intramuscular injection of aminopterin on the crypts of Lieberkühn in rats. A decrease in the mitotic counts was accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of abnormal cells present in the epithelium of the crypt. Three hours after administration of the aminopterin, an almost complete absence of true metaphase chromosoms was found. By 24 hours, a partial return towards normal mitotic activity was observed but the number of abnormal cells present was still very high. It is suggested that the mitotic changes are in keeping with the conclusion of Grampa and Dustin (1952) of an arrest at interphase but that a secondary arrest at metaphase cannot be excluded.
A morphological feature of some of the abnormal cells was the presence of a Feulgen positive granule in the cytoplasm, which by electron microscopy was also shown to contain many cytoplasmic constituents. It is suggested that material is lost from the nucleus and incorporated into a granule in the cytoplasm. A possible explanation of the purpose and function of the granule, as a means of disposing of unwanted or aberrant material, is put forward.
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Acknowledgements. I am grateful to Professor R. J. Brocklehurst for his continued interest and support of this work, and to the Stage II, B. Sc. students (1964) who counted the cells in many of the specimens as a laboratory exercise. My thanks are also due to Mr. J. Clements for technical assistance.
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Millington, P.F. Studies of the effects of aminopterin on the crypts of Lieberkühn in rats. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 65, 607–621 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337071
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337071