Freeze-fracture ultrastructure of rat C.N.S. and P.N.S. nonmyelinated axolemma

Abstract

The axolemma of nonmyelinated fibres from the corpus callosum and cerebellar cortex (C.N.S.) and the vagus nerve (P.N.S.) was investigated with freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The major observations of this study are as follows: (1) there is a highly asymmetrical distribution of intramembranous particles between the E- and P-fracture faces in both C.N.S. and P.N.S. fibres; (2) the total number of particles on the P-faces of all axonal types studied is considerably greater than that on the E-face; (3) the number of particles on the E-faces of C.N.S. axons is greater than that on the E-faces of P.N.S. axons; and (4) the percentage of large (>9.6 nm) particles is greater on the E-face than on the P-face regardless of the axon studied. The results are compared with previous freeze-fracture investigations on the nodal and internodal membranes of myelinated fibres.