Abstract
Ultrathin sections of the carotid body of adult rats, processed through freeze-substitution after aldehyde-prefixation, showed a substantial number of presumed gap junctions between two adjacent chief cells, between chief and sustentacular cells, and between chief cells and carotid nerve terminals. The junctions showed a very narrow intercellular space of 2 nm and ranged in length from 200 nm to 1 µm. They may form the morphological substrate for electrical coupling between cells, the occurrence of which has been demonstrated by electrophysiology. Further studies using freeze-fracture and immunocytochemistry for connexins are necessary to confirm this possibility. In addition, small tight junctions are present between chief and sustentacular cells, and between adjacent sustentacular cells.
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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Kondo, H., Iwasa, H. (1996). Re-Examination of the Carotid Body Ultrastructure with Special Attention to Intercellular Membrane Appositions. In: Zapata, P., Eyzaguirre, C., Torrance, R.W. (eds) Frontiers in Arterial Chemoreception. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 410. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5891-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5891-0_4
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