We used cationized colloidal gold in order to investigate the distribution of anionic sites in different secretory granules of rat and mouse mast cells. The localization of the anionic sites was performed by post-embedding labeling of thin sections of rat peritoneal cells or mouse skin tissue, fixed in Karnovsky's fixative and OsO4, and embedded in Araldite or LR white, respectively. In all cases anionic sites were demonstrated with a high density variation depending on cell type. In all mast cell secretory granules we have observed the highest density (ca. 500-900 gold particles/microns2), while in other peritoneal cell granules it was about 10 times less (ca. 40-80 gold particles/microns2). Pretreatment of the LR white sections with heparinase I and III resulted in a reduction of 97% and 72%, respectively, in the binding of the gold particles to the granules, indicating that the majority of the gold binding reactivity is due to heparin. Correlation of section profile area with labeling density revealed that the smaller granules were significantly more labeled when compared to the larger profiles. On the basis of these observations it seems that a post-translational change (mainly sulfation of heparin) of secretory content influences the granule anionic charge and thus may affect the intragranule buffer capacity.

S U M M A R YWe used cationized colloidal gold (CCG) to investigate the distribution of anionic sites in different secretory granules of mouse pancreatic acinar cell regranulation. Localization of anionic sites with CCG was carried out on ultrathin sections of a mouse pancreas, fixed in Karnovsky's fixative and OsO 4 and embedded in Araldite. After pilocarpinestimulated degranulation, there was a marked diminution in the anionic charge density of immature and mature granules of the 4-hr group ( Ϸ 43.0 gold particles ր m 2 ) compared to the 8-hr mature granules group ( Ϸ 64.6 gold particles ր m 2 ). Scattergram analysis to investigate the correlation between section profile size and cationized gold labeling density revealed a reverse correlation, the small granule profiles demonstrated a higher density compared to the larger profiles of the same group. On the basis of these observations, it appears that a post-translational processing of secretory content influences the granule anionic charge and thus may affect the intragranular buffer capacity.

We used the egg avidin gold complex as a polycationic probe for the localization of negatively charged sites in the secretory granules of mouse mast cells. We compared the binding of this reagent to mast cell granules in wild-type mice and in congenic brachymorphic mice in which mast cell secretory granules contained undersulfated proteoglycans. We localized anionic sites by post-embedding labeling of thin sections of mouse skin and tongue tissues fixed in Karnovsky's fixative and OsO4 and embedded in Araldite. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the mast cell granules of bm/bm mice had a lower optical density than those of wild-type mice (P<0.001) and a lower adivin gold binding density (by approximately 50%, P<0.001). The latter result provides additional evidence that the contents of mast cell granules in bm/bm mice were less highly sulfated than in those of wild type mice. In both wild type and bm/bm mast cells, the distribution of granule equivalent volumes was multimodal, but the unit granule volume was approximately 19% lower in bm/bm cells than in wild type cells (P < 0.05). Thus, bm/bm mast cells develop secretory granules that differ from those of wild type mice in exhibiting a lower optical density and slightly smaller unit granules, however the processes that contribute to granule maturation and granule-granule fusion in mast cells are operative in the bm/bm cells.