QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CELL-DAMAGE IN-SITU - ELECTRON-MICROPROBE X-RAY-ANALYSIS OF MODEL ORGANISMS TREATED WITH NOXIOUS SPECIES

Authors
Citation
Z. Zizka et R. Pelc, QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CELL-DAMAGE IN-SITU - ELECTRON-MICROPROBE X-RAY-ANALYSIS OF MODEL ORGANISMS TREATED WITH NOXIOUS SPECIES, Folia microbiologica, 42(5), 1997, pp. 530-532
Citations number
11
Categorie Soggetti
Microbiology,"Biothechnology & Applied Migrobiology
Journal title
ISSN journal
00155632
Volume
42
Issue
5
Year of publication
1997
Pages
530 - 532
Database
ISI
SICI code
0015-5632(1997)42:5<530:QAOCI->2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
The existing set of methods for assessing toxicity of noxas, based on experiments with whole animals (subclinical toxicity, toxicokinetics, carcinogenity, teratogenity, neurotoxicology etc.) does not provide mu ch information about cellular and subcellular effects such compounds m ay exert. We suggest to complement the current methodology by combinin g a traditional morphological observation in an electron microscope wi th a spectroscopic method of electron microprobe X-ray analysis (or X- ray microanalysis). The latter makes it possible to measure concentrat ions of chemical elements in invidividual cells and organelles and eff ects of noxas can thus be assessed (i) at subcellular level, (ii) dire ctly in situ and (iii) quantitatively. Concentrations of biologically important elements such as phosphorus, sulfur or zinc were measured in individual organelles in both intact and nora-treated tissues, thus o ffering a possibility of comparing the effects of various noxious spec ies at subcellular level (with the nora previously applied to whole ti ssue or animal). The suggested correlation of analytical and morpholog ical information may also provide new insights into cellular targeting of noxas (and potentially also drugs) as some organelles appear to be much more susceptible to damage than others.