Stability of orthogonal arrays of particles in murine skeletal muscle and astrocytes after circulatory arrest, and human gliomas.

The effect of hypoxic conditions on the maintenance of orthogonal arrays of particles (OAP) in the plasma membranes of brain astrocytes, skeletal muscle cells of the mouse and of human glioma cells was investigated by means of freeze-fracturing. Pieces of tissue were put in a moist chamber at 20 and 37 degrees C and fixed after different intervals up to 2 h. Muscle cell OAP are demonstrated 2 h after circulatory arrest irrespective of temperature. Astrocytic OAP are shown to be as stable as those in muscle cells at 20 degrees C. Also at 37 degrees C, intact OAP were observed although the membranes were strongly lesioned. We conclude that OAP in astrocytes are essentially more stable than reported in the literature.