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A Protocol for Silver Staining Ion Transport Epithelia of Whole Animals and Excised Organs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Charles W. Holliday*
Affiliation:
Lafayette College

Extract

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Those of us who study the structure and physiological function of ion transport cells in animals or their excised organs (gills, for example) are always interested in “quick and dirty” screening methods to identify ion transport epithelia. Having identified epithelial areas rich in putative “ionocytes”, we are also interested in looking at the mix of non-transport cells and “ionocytes” in the tissue. The so-called “silver staining” method can satisfy both of these desiderata quickly and easily.

Silver staining selectively blackens areas of the organism's body surface which are very permeable to chloride and/or silver ions; such areas are often the sites of ion transport epithelia (Croghan, 1958; Holliday, et al., 1990; Kikuchi & Shirashi, 1997).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 1998

References

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