Electron microscopic demonstration of polysaccharides in central and peripheral myelin by...

Thin sections of glutaraldehyde-fixed central and peripheral nerve myelin were stained with thiosemicarbazide and protein-silver after oxidation with periodic acid on thin sections. In compact CNS myelin, staining was observed exclusively on intraperiod lines. In peripheral myelin, both intraperiod and major dense lines were stained. In addition, dense staining was observed on plasma membranes of oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells, especially periaxonally on tongue processes and in Schmidt-Lanterman incisures. The observed staining was most prominent on glycogen granules in unfixed and freeze-substituted tissues. Therefore, the results strongly suggest that polysaccharides of glycoproteins and glycolipids are visualized in both CNS and PNS compact myelin as well as on surface membranes of oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells.