Summary
Normal frog sartorius muscles and muscles in which a major portion of the intracellular K+ was reversibly replaced by Rb+ or Cs+ were frozen, freeze-dried and embedded without chemical fixation or staining. Dry-cut sections of these preparations reveal striation patterns with higher contrast than those of wet-cut sections of the same preparation. The results suggest that in the living state the alkali metal ions are mainly localized in the A bands and Z lines of myofibrils. This idea is confirmed by a new autoradiographic technique by means of which the distribution of Rb+ and Cs+ in frozen-hydrated single muscle fibers has been investigated. The findings support the association-induction hypothesis according to which most cell K+ and other alkali-metal ions are not free in cell water but are adsorbed to beta- and gamma-carboxyl groups of cell proteins.
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Edelmann, L. Potassium binding sites in muscle: Electron microscopic visualization of K, Rb, and Cs in freeze-dired preparations and autoradiography at liquid nitrogen temperature using86Rb and134Cs. Histochemistry 67, 233–242 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00692757
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00692757