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Effect of different fixatives on Con A surface receptors of mouse peritoneal macrophages

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Summary

The effects of glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, or osmium tetroxide fixation on the number of labeled Con A surface receptors on mouse peritoneal macrophages were compared. Gold-labeled Con A receptors were found to be isolatedly arranged and evenly distributed on cell surfaces independent of the fixative used. Only cells preincubated with Con A and subsequently fixed by osmium tetroxide showed arrangement of labeled receptors in clusters. Significant differences were found in the number of Con A receptors per cell depending on the fixative used. The fluorescence intensity of FITC-Con A staining was detected spectrophotometrically, the characteristic X-rays of gold-labeled Con A receptors were determined by means of electron beam-induced X-ray microanalysis. The experimental results obtained both at light and electron microscopic level pointed to formaldehyde being the best fixative also for this purpose.

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Peschke, T., Wollweber, L., Gabert, A. et al. Effect of different fixatives on Con A surface receptors of mouse peritoneal macrophages. Histochemistry 93, 443–446 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315865

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