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Transmission Electron Microscopy of Oligodendrocytes and Myelin

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Oligodendrocytes

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1936))

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe protocols to study different aspects of oligodendrocytes and myelin using electron microscopy. First, we describe in detail how to prepare central nervous system tissue routinely by perfusion fixation of the animal and conventional embedding in Epon resin. Then, we explain how, with some modifications, chemically fixed tissue can be used for immunoelectron microscopy on cryosections. Chemical fixation and Epon embedding can also be applied to purified myelin to assess the quality of the preparation. Furthermore, we describe how cryopreparation by high-pressure freezing can be used to study the fine structure of myelin in nerve, brain, and spinal cord tissue. The differences in the structural appearance of oligodendrocytes and myelin between cryopreserved and conventionally processed samples are compared using representative images. Since primary cultured oligodendrocytes are used to study structure and function in vitro, we provide protocols for chemical fixation and Epon embedding of these cultures. Finally, we explain how the cytoskeleton of cultured oligodendrocytes can be visualized by using transmission electron microscopy on platinum-carbon replicas. In this chapter, we provide a wide range of protocols that can be applied to shed light on the different biological aspects of myelin and oligodendrocytes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Neurogenetics, Electron Microscopy Core Unit, Göttingen, Germany

    Marie-Theres Weil, Torben Ruhwedel, Martin Meschkat, Boguslawa Sadowski & Wiebke Möbius

  2. Center Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), Göttingen, Germany

    Marie-Theres Weil, Boguslawa Sadowski & Wiebke Möbius

  3. AbbVie Deutschland GmbH and Co. KG, Ludwigshafen, Germany

    Marie-Theres Weil

Authors
  1. Marie-Theres Weil
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  2. Torben Ruhwedel
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  3. Martin Meschkat
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  4. Boguslawa Sadowski
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  5. Wiebke Möbius
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wiebke Möbius .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    David A. Lyons

  2. Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Linde Kegel

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Weil, MT., Ruhwedel, T., Meschkat, M., Sadowski, B., Möbius, W. (2019). Transmission Electron Microscopy of Oligodendrocytes and Myelin. In: Lyons, D., Kegel, L. (eds) Oligodendrocytes. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1936. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9072-6_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9072-6_20

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9070-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9072-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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