Scanning electron microscopy of cytoplasmic filaments in rat anterior pituitary cells

In order to demonstrate the occurrence of cytoplasmic filaments and their relationship to secretory granules, rat anterior pituitaries perfused with a detergent solution containing 0.5% Triton X-100 were observed with the scanning electron microscope. Thin section images and quick-freeze, deep-etching replica images were also studied. Scanning electron microscopy clearly demonstrated complicated networks of numerous cytoskeletal filaments in the cytoplasm of all the secretory cells of the anterior pituitary. These filaments can be classified into two groups on the basis of their diameter: thick filaments measuring 30-40 nm in diameter, and thin filaments 15-25 nm in diameter, each including the thickness of the platinum coat. The thick filaments, which run rather straight, are considered to be microtubules. The thin filaments attached to the surface of a secretory granule may connect it with an adjacent secretory granule, with cyto-organelles, with the nucleus, or with the plasma membrane. Transmission electron microscopic images of thin sections and quick-freeze, deep-etching replicas confirm the occurrence of filamentous structures associated with the limiting membrane of the secretory granule. The fine filaments associated with the limiting membrane of the secretory granule might participate in the support and transport of the granule.