Fol. Biol. 2001, 47, 14-17
A Short Note on Micronucleoli in the Course of Terminal Maturation of Human Erythroblasts
The incidence of micronucleoli in the course of terminal differentiation of human erythroblasts was studied by the cytochemical procedures for demonstration of RNA and characteristic proteins of interphase AgNORs. The last dividing stages of the erythroid lineage - polychromatophylic erythroblasts - characterized by the presence of micronucleoli exhibited significantly larger values of the nucleolar coefficient in specimens stained for AgNOR proteins than in those stained for RNA. In addition, both these and terminal non-dividing nucleated stages of the erythroid lineage - orthochromatic erythroblasts - possessed micronucleoli after staining for RNA in a much smaller percentage of cells than after staining for AgNOR proteins. Thus, both these observations indicate that micronucleoli in the course of terminal maturation of erythroblasts apparently lose the nucleolar RNA detectable by the light microscopic cytochemistry. In addition, silver-stained micronucleoli - nucleolar remnants - were also noted in erythroblasts expelling the nucleus.
Keywords
micronucleoli, human erythroblasts, terminal differentiation, RNA staining and silver reaction for AgNOR proteins.
Funding
The present study was supported by the Grant NC/5929-2 of the Grant Agency of the Czech Ministry of Health and Grant MSM111100005 of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.