Investigation of glial cells in semithin sections. I. Identification of glial cells in the brain of young rats

作者：Eng‐Ang Ling, Jean A. Paterson, Alain Privat, Shuji Mori, C. P. Leblond · 发表于：The Journal of Comparative Neurology · 年份：1973 · DOI：10.1002/cne.901490104 · 被引用次数：402 · 研究领域：Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms、Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms、Barrier Structure and Function Studies

Abstract The staining of half‐micron thick Epon sections with toluidine blue provides a reliable method for the identification of glial cells. The diagnostic features of these cells observed in the corpus callosum of one‐month‐old rats are as follows: (1) Astrocytes have a very pale nucleus and cytoplasm; the nuclear envelope is sharply outlined by a thin chromatin lining with occasional chromatin beads; (2) Microglia have a small nucleus in which large, dark chromatin masses contrast with the nucleoplasm; the nucleus is round or elongated, and may be somewhat angular. The pericytes, which have a similar but usually crescentic nucleus, may be related to microglia. (3) Oligodendrocytes vary from pale to very dense and may be arbitrarily classified into three subgroups: The light oligodendrocytes are large pale cells with round to ovoid nucleus containing a prominent nucleolus and little or no condensed chromatin; the cytoplasm is extensive and appears pale, although less so than the nucleus. The medium shade oligodendrocytes are smaller cells that have an ovoid nucleus carrying small chromatin clumps and appearing moderately basophilic throughout; the cytoplasm is less extensive and somewhat darker than in the “light” subgroup. The dark oligodendrocytes are usually smaller than medium shade cells and often have an indented or angular nucleus with large chromatin masses; both nucleoplasm and cytoplasm are densely stained; the cytoplasm is often scanty and accumulated on one sid...