Electron microscopic study of the cytoskeleton of osteoblasts in rat alveolar bone: microfilaments and intermediate filaments as demonstrated by detergent perfusion.
To visualize the cytoskeleton and to preserve the morphology of osteoblasts in the alveolar bone, rats were perfused with a mixture of Triton X-100 and a low concentration of glutaraldehyde, and their alveoli were observed under a transmission electron microscope. The alveolar bone osteoblasts contained a large number of fibers (5-6 nm in diameter) which seemed to be microfilaments. In the cytoplasm just below the cell membranes at the osteal cell surfaces, the microfilaments formed thick bundles distributed in parallel with the long axis of the cell. These findings suggest that, in rat alveolar bone osteoblasts, the bundles of microfilaments located immediately below the cell membranes at the osteal cell surfaces are stress fibers in situ.