Nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles were studied in the central nervous system of the rat after fixation by perfusion with hypotonic-detergent formaldehyde. Beads-on-a-string structures (polyparticles or chains) formed of 14-nm granules related by a 7-nm thick filament were found. These polypartides are positively contrasted by a preferential method for ribonucleoproteins and they are sensitive to RNase. Perichromatin granules are loosened by this fixation and their internal structure is clearly depicted. They are composed of a tangled mass of 3-rim thick filaments, but lack 14-nm granules. The internal filaments of the perichromatin granules display frequent continuities with polypartides. These results show that polyparticles correspond to periehromatin fibrils visualized in nuclei by standard fixation procedures.
nucleus --interphase --ribonucleoproteins --nuclear particles