The ultrastructure of anionic sites in rat articular cartilage as revealed by different preparation methods and polyethyleneimine staining

The ultrastructure of anionic sites in the middle layer of rat articular cartilages was studied by two methods, the quick-freezing and deep-etching method, and the quick-freezing and freeze-substitution method. The anionic sites were visualized with a cationic tracer, polyethyleneimine. They were also compared with those revealed in tissues subjected to conventional fixation, such as pre-embedding or post-embedding. With the deep-etching method, three-dimensional meshwork structures were observed more clearly in the extracellular matrix compared with those seen in conventional ultrathin sections. In combination with polyethyleneimine staining, in which no chemical contrast was needed for visualization of anionic sites, numerous stained particles were detected around filaments in the extracellular matrix, indicating that they were anionic sites consisting mainly of proteoglycans. With the pre-embedding method and polyethyleneimine staining, the shapes of aggregated stained particles varied with different preparation procedures, including chemical fixation and contrasting. The fine meshworks were also observed with the post-embedding method and polyethyleneimine staining. It is suggested that such images of anionic sites, as revealed by the deep-etching method and the post-embedding polyethyleneimine-staining method with low-temperature dehydration, are probably closer to native states than those revealed by the conventional pre-embedding polyethyleneimine-staining method. © 1998 Chapman & Hall