| Abstract: | Light and electron microscopic techniques were utilized in the study of normal, rachitic, and D3-replete chicken growth plates. Potassium pyroantimonate-osmium tetroxide, ATPase, alkaline phosphatase, PAS and GBHA staining revealed only minimal differences between the experimental groups. The most significant difference noted with both the potassium pyroantimonate-osmium tetroxide and Oil Red O techniques was the marked intracellular lipid content of rachitic and D3-replete growth plates. Essentially no lipid globules were noted in normal animals. Since it appears that most of the mechanisms postulated as necessary for calcification are present in rachitic chicks, it is suggested that perhaps the increased intracellular lipid pool results from the formation of abnormal lipids for insertion into the plasma membrane and thus prevents normal calcium transport. |
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