Localization of Glial Cells and Nerve Terminals in Crayfish Abdominal Muscles

Abstract

Fluorescent dyes and confocal fluorescence microscopy were used to localize nerve terminals and adjacent cells in crayfish abdominal muscles. Nerve terminals were stained with 4-di-2-aspm(4-diethylaminostryly-N-methylpyridinium iodide) and nuclei of adjacent cells were stained with SYTO 61 red fluorescent nucleic acid stain. It was observed that some nerve terminals were closely associated with large nucleic bodies tentatively identified as glial cells. This association was not consistent to all nerve terminals, leading to speculation of different populations of nerve terminals, some of which interact with glial cells and some of which do not. Neither a complete structure nor function has been discovered for these cells.