Morphometrical and Cytochemical Studies on the Isolated Single Cells from Adult Rabbit Heart

Abstract

Isolation of intact single cardiac cells was carried out to investigate the shape, size and structure together with the cytochemical reaction in adult rabbit. Perfusion of the heart with calcium free Tyrode solution containing 0.04% collagenase resulted in 50% viability of single cardiac cells which were confirmed by trypan blue exclusion test and Janus green B stain. Isolated single cardiac cells from the left ventricle and atrium were both rod shape. The average length and width of the cells from the ventricle and the atrium were 132.9 f.1 m and 10.6 f.1 m, 132.0 f.1 m and 12.3 f.1 m respectively. The isolated single cells from the SA and the AV nodes were both oval shape and their long axis and short axis were measured as 33.8 f.1 m and 25.0 f.1 m, and 33.8 f.1 rn and 24.6 f.1 m respectively. All the single cardiac cells contained abundant positive granules after McManus' periodic acid Schiff reaction. The single cells from the SA node and the AV node revealed fibrillar structures in their cytoplasm and the single cells from left ventricle and left atrium showed blue cross striations after Mallory's phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin stain.