chapter 4 Stereomicroscopy of Whole Cells

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the different aspects of the stereomicroscopy of whole cells. The applications of stereomicroscopy of whole cells are expanding rapidly and will take on greater significance when more high-voltage microscopes become available. The correlative information made available by this approach will help to define precisely the influence that changes in cytoskeletal components can exert on the external cell surface morphology. This approach has already been successfully applied to follow virus propagation, maturation, and release from host cell systems. The same methods will also be useful in analyzing the ultrastructural basis for endocytosis, especially where it involves selective uptake by clathrin-coated pits and vesicles. The capping process in cells and the involvement of the subsurface lattice also lend themselves to this approach. Cell responses to a number of drugs such as cytochalasin B and Taxol offer attractive opportunities for observing fine structural changes associated with the gross form changes that the treated cells displays. The stereo micrographs depict for the cytoplasmic ground substance the same microtrabecular lattice as is found in images of the whole cell. The dimensions and the volume ratios of trabeculae to intertrabecular space are different, but that is to be expected, as differentiated cells normally contain less H2O.