Cytochemical Studies on the Mitochondria of Blood Cells Part 4. Cytochemical Study on the Mitochondria of Blood Cells with the Electron Microscope

In order to elucidate the microstructures of the mitochondria in blood cells in the relation with the sites of enzyme activities the author carried out electron microscopic observations on the ultra-thin sectioned specimens prepared from the normal blood cells on which the cytochemical reaction of the respiratory enzyme system has been made with the use of potassium tellurite, a heavy metal salt. As the result, it has been verified that the terminal respiratory enzyme system is localized mainly in mitochondria, and that these are significant differences in the enzyme activity of mitochondria not only between those belonging to the different kind of blood cells but also even in those found in a cell. It has also been demonstrated that these enzymes are found as a farily dense contiguous mass mainly locating in the cristae of mitochondrion, and some in the mitochondrial membrane. These observations show that there are some differences in the enzyme activity between the membrane and the cristae of mitochondria.