Summary
The morphology of the microtubular wall in rabbit platelets fixed in glutaraldehyde and osmic acid solution and stained with uranyl acetate, or lead hydroxide, or doubly stained, is variable. In cross section, the wall may appear as a uniformly dense annulus, an annulus containing nodular densities about 35 Å in diameter or as a series of contiguous subunits with a circular cross sectional profile about 70 Å wide. The authors relate the varying morphology to the intensity of staining and equate the nodular and circular subunits. Rotational analysis suggests that there are 12 ± 2 subunits in the microtubular wall.
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We thank Professor A. C. Ritchie for his criticism of the paper and Mrs. M. Lorber and Mrs. M. Mezari for technical assistance. — This work was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Heart Foundation.
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Silver, M.D., McKinstry, J.E. Morphology of microtubules in rabbit platelets. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 81, 12–17 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344548
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344548