TEM CYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF THE LOCALIZATION OF PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN INTERPHASE CHROMATIN IN RAT HEPATOCYTES

The electron microscopy cytochemical detection of phospholipids in wel l-defined areas in the interphase nuclei of hepatocytes has been obtai ned by the acid haematein test, modified for electron microscopy and b y the phospholipase A2-colloidal gold method. The specificity of both methods were controlled by enzymatic digestion with phsopholipase. The main intra-nuclear localization of phospholipids is at the border bet ween the condensed and dispersed chromatin, where non-ribosomal RNA is also revealed by RNase-gold labelling. Phospholipids are detected, to o, over the clusters of interchromatin granules and in the fibrillar c omponent of the nucleolus.