Summary
At the mineralization front of the epiphyseal growth plate large quantities of calcium (Ca) are necessary to form the mineral (a Ca-phosphate). It is an unsolved problem, whether Ca is transported through the cells of the growth plate cartilage or extracellularly. Electronprobe microanalysis (EPMA) allows the quantitative, morphologically correlated analysis of elements. EPMA can discriminate only different elements. To investigate the transport of Ca, Strontium (Sr) is a very good tracer, as it resembles Ca in many biological reactions.
Our results demonstrate that the transport of Sr from the blood into the growth plate and through the growth plate needs only one or a few minutes. The measured intracellular Sr and Ca concentrations are much lower than the extracellular ones, while the intracellular Sr/Ca ratio is not or only a little bit lower than the extracellular one. It must be concluded, that significant amounts of Ca are neither transported through nor accumulated in the cells of the growth plate cartilage. The main transport is an extracellular diffusion. Using Sr as a tracer for Ca new results on the behaviour of Ca could be received.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali SY, Wisby A, Gray JC (1978) Electron probe analysis of cryosections of epiphyseal cartilage. Metab Bone Dis Rel Res 1:97–103
Barnard T (1981) Mitochondrial matrix granules, dense particles and the sequestration of calcium by mitochondria. Scanning Electron Microsc 1981/II:419–433
Boyde A, Shapiro IM (1980) Energy dispersive X-ray elemental analysis of isolated epiphyseal growth plate chondrocyte fragments. Histochemistry 69:85–94
Brighton CT, Hunt RM (1974) Mitochondrial calcium and its role in calcification. Clin Orthop 100:406–416
Brighton CT, Hunt RM (1978) Electron microscopic pyroantimonate studies of matrix vesicles and mitochondria in the rachitic growth plate. Metab Bone Dis Rel Res 1:199–204
Burger EH, de Bruijn WC (1979) Mitochondrial calcium of intact and mechanically damaged bone and cartilage cells studied with K-pyroantimonate. Histochemistry 62:325–336
Felsmann M (1987) Elektronenstrahl-Mikroanalyse dünner Proben: Räumliche Auflösung und Untersuchung des Calcium Transports in der Wachstumsfuge mit Hilfe von Strontium als Markierungselement. Thesis, University Münster
Goldstein JI, Newbury DE, Echlin P, Joy DC, Fiori C, Lifshin E (1981) Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis; chap 8.6.3. Plenum Press, New York
hargest TE, Gay CV, Schraer H, Wasserman AJ (1985) Vertical distribution of elements in cells and matrix of epiphyseal growth plate cartilage determined by quantitative electron probe analysis. J Histochem Cytochem 33:275–283
Hunt RM, Brighton CT, Sugioka Y, Yamaguchi T (1985) An ultrastructural study using strontium to trace the pathway of calcium in the growth plate. Bone 6:468
Hunziker EB, Herrmann W, Schenk RK, Müller M, Moor H (1984) Cartilage ultrastructure after high pressure freezing, freeze substitution, and low temperature embedding. J Cell Biol 98:267–276
Krefting ER (1984) Problems of electronprobe microanalysis of biological tissue. Beitr Elektronenmikrosk Direktabb Oberfl 17:269–272
Krefting ER (1985) Redistribution of intra- and extracellular element concentrations in the growth plate during cryopreparation. Beitr Elektronenmikrosk Direktabb Oberfl 18:213–218
Krefting ER (1986) Diffusion of electrolytes in the epiphyseal growth plate during the cryopreparation for electronprobe microanalysis. In: Brown JD, Packwood RH (eds) 11th Int. Congr. X-ray optics and microanalysis, London Kanada 1986, pp 298–302
Krefting ER, Lissner (Willner) G, Höhling HJ (1984) Quantitative electronprobe microanalysis of the epiphyseal growth plate. J Phys (Paris) 45 (Suppl C2):465–468
Krefting ER, Felsmann M, Höhling HJ, Richter KD (1985) Strontium as tracer for the transport of calcium in the epiphyseal growth plate. Beitr Elektronenmikrosk Direktabb Oberfl 18:209–212
Krefting ER, Felsmann M, Höhling HJ, Richter KD (1986) Electronprobe microanalysis of strontium as a tracer to study the transport of calcium in the growth plate. In: Brown JD, Packwood RH (eds) 11th Int. Congr. X-ray Optics and Microanalysis, London Kanada 1986, pp 303–306
Kshirsagar SG (1985a): Strontium-calcium discrimination in vitro by rat tissues. J Biosci 9:129–135
Kshirsagar SG (1985b) Effect of age on strontium discrimination by rat tissues. Indian J Exp Biol 23:366–369
Landis WJ, Glimcher MJ (1982) Elecron optical and analytical observations of rat growth plate cartilage prapared by ultramicrotomy. J Ultrastruct Res 78:227–268
Marie PJ, Garba MT, Hott M, Miravet L (1985) Effect of low doses of stable strontium on bone metabolism in rats. Miner electrolyte Metab 11:5–13
Skoryna SC (ed.) (1981): Handbook of stable strontium, chap 11–13. Plenum Press, New York
Somlyo AP, Somlyo AV, Shuman H (1979) Electron probe analysis of vascular smooth muscle, composition of mitochondria, nuclei, and cytoplasm. J Cell Biol 81:316–335
Spector WS (ed.) (1956) Handbook of toxicology, vol 1. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, p 284
Van Iren F, Van Essen-Joolen L, Van der Duyn Schouten P, Boers-Van der Sluijs P, de Bruijn WC (1979) Sodium and calcium localization in cells and tissues by precipitation with antimonate: a quantitative study. Histochemistry 63:273–294
Wuthier RE (1982) A review of the primary mechanism of endochondral calcification with special emphasis on the role of cells, mitochondria and matrix vesicles. Clin Orthop 168:219–242
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Professor Dr. T.H. Schiebler on the occasion of his 65th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krefting, E.R., Höhling, H.J., Felsmann, M. et al. Strontium as a tracer to study the transport of calcium in the epiphyseal growth plate (electronprobe microanalysis). Histochemistry 88, 321–326 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00570290
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00570290