The present studies were designed to determine the feasibility of using the rat tracheal epithelium as models for induction of aging.
The ultrastructural and cytochemical changes of tracheal epithelium were investigated in rats at ages of five, twelve and twenty four months.
Some major changes in the tracheal epithelium with advancing age were observed by electron microscopy.
The results were summarized as fellow
1. With the advance of age, lysosome, vacuole and multivesicular bodies were increased in number and numerous myelinoid bodies were observed in cytoplasm of ciliated cells.
2. In goblet cell, serous cell and brush cell lysosome and myelinoid bodies were increased in number with the advance of age, and an myelinoid bodies was often found within the secretory granule.
3. Cytochemical studies showed that acid phosphatase activities was observed in multivesicular bodies and lysosome, strong activities with the advance of age. And alkaline phosphatase activity are observed in microvilli, granule and lateral membrane of secretory granule cells, and strong activities with age.
Consequently suggest that with the advance of age, tracheal epithelium show ultrastructural and cytochemical alteration of some kind of cell organelles in all kind of cell.
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