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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Functional Site-Directed Fluorometry in Native Cells to Study Skeletal Muscle Excitability
Published on: June 2, 2023
[AO distribution and fluorescence spectra in myoblasts and single muscle fibres]
Abstract:
Using spectral scanning regime of Leica TCS SL confocal microscope, acridine orange (AO) fluorescence spectra in nuclei and cytoplasms of living myoblasts L6J1 and frog single muscle fibres have been studied. AO fluorescence spectra in salt solutions dependent on free AO concentrations and in AO complexes with DNA have also been obtained for comparison. Myoblasts nuclei fluoresced in green spectral region with maximum at approximately 530 nm (corresponding AO monomers fluorescence), nucleoli fluoresced most brightly. Nuclear chromatin fluoresced not uniformly in these cells. We saw similar to myoblasts AO emission in nucleoli and nuclei of frog single muscle fibres. The uniformed weak green fluorescence was observed for myoblast cytoplasm. As to the muscle fibres sarcoplasm, we saw also AO green fluorescence in A-discs. In myoblasts and muscle fibre cytoplasm we saw the fluorescent red, yellow and green granules which were acidic organelles. The comparison of AO fluorescence spectra in living cells with fluorescence spectra of different AO concentrations and complexes of AO with DNA in buffer solutions allows estimation of AO concentration in acidic granules which is of interest in the investigation of cellular organelles functions in the processes of intracellular transport, adaptation, apoptosis and a number of pathological conditions.
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