The cytomatrix: a short history of its study

As earlyas 1820and forseveraldecadesthereafter theearly observersof thecytomatrixworked mostlywiththelight microscopeand verysimpleequipment.Itwas notuncommon fortheinvestigator simplytocrusha cellbetweentwo slidesand watchtheresults .The solemotivationforthese studies, asfarasIcanjudge,wasthesatisfaction ofcuriosity, fortherewereno grants.Suchobservations arevaluabletous today,especially thoseaccompaniedbyimaginativeinterpretations . Studieson thecytomatrixfallroughlyintothreeperiods, theearly,middle,and recent.The earlyperiod,whichwas mostlydescriptive, wasthelongestandfilled theyearsbetween 1820and 1910.Itwas a timewhen lightmicroscopeswere greatlyimproved,when chemicalfixatives werediscovered, when microtomesand stainingprocedureswereintroduced, and when thecommunity ofbiologists became awareofcells and how theydivideandassembleintotissues .Cellpathology alsowas pioneeredduringthisperiod. The middleperiodbeganaround1910andcontinueduntil 1940.The emphasisinthisperiodwason thestudyofliving cellsand on experimentsdesignedtoanswerfundamental questionsregardingtheproperties ofthecytomatrixand the structural basisofintracellular organization . The recentperiodhaswitnessedtheintroduction ofphasecontrastmicroscopy,whichgreatlyfacilitated theobservation oflivingcells .Ithasbeenalso,ofcourse,dominatedby cell fractionation and electronmicroscopy.Ithasbeena period ofintenseactivity, yieldinggreatquantities ofinformation aboutcellsand tissues .Cellbiologyhasnow emergedasa distinct science,butthecytoplasmicmatrixisstill notperceivedby allcellbiologists assomethingworthstudying. Iwouldliketobeginmy discussion withthemiddleperiod, thenlookbackattheearlyperiodforitsbackground,and finally touchon therecentand more familiarperiod.Space doesnotpermitme tomentionallthedetailsthatIwould liketo.

[1]  N. K. Wessells,et al.  ULTRASTRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF GROWTH CONES AND AXONS OF CULTURED NERVE CELLS , 1971, The Journal of cell biology.

[2]  M. Zalokar.  Cytochemistry of centrifuged hyphae of Neurospora. , 1960, Experimental cell research.

[3]  M. Heidenhain.  Ueber die Struktur der Darmepithelzellen , 1899 .

[4]  K. Porter,et al.  The structure of the cytoplasmic matrix preserved by freeze-drying and freeze-substitution. , 1982, European journal of cell biology.

[5]  R. R. Bensley,et al.  Studies on cell structure by the freezing‐drying method V. The chemical basis of the organization of the cell , 1934 .

[6]  A. Claude,et al.  A STUDY OF TISSUE CULTURE CELLS BY ELECTRON MICROSCOPY , 1945, The Journal of experimental medicine.

[7]  K. Porter,et al.  The ground substance of the living cell. , 1981, Scientific American.

[8]  D. Pease,et al.  The liquefaction of the tentacles of suctorian protozoa at high hydrostatic pressures , 1939 .

[9]  J. Danielli.  Submicroscopic Morphology of Protoplasm and its Derivatives , 1948, Nature.

[10]  Francis Crick,et al.  The physical properties of cytoplasm. A study by means of the magnetic particle method. Part II. Theoretical treatment , 1950 .

[11]  J. Miller,et al.  The molecular biology of Euglena gracilis. 8. Glycitols and monosaccharides. , 1972, The Journal of protozoology.

[12]  M. McNiven,et al.  The cytoplast: A unit structure in chromatophores , 1982, Cell.

[13]  J. Miller,et al.  The molecular biology of Euglena gracilis. V. Enzyme localization. , 1968, Experimental cell research.

[14]  Shinya Inoué,et al.  Cell Motility by Labile Association of Molecules , 1967, The Journal of general physiology.

[15]  K. Porter,et al.  Microtrabecular lattice of the cytoplasmic ground substance. Artifact or reality , 1979, The Journal of cell biology.

[16]  R. L. King,et al.  SURVIVAL OF ASCARIS EGGS AFTER CENTRIFUGING. , 1936, Science.

[17]  J. Clegg.  Interrelationships between water and cell metabolism in Artemia cysts. IX. Evidence for organization of soluble cytoplasmic enzymes. , 1982, Cold Spring Harbor symposia on quantitative biology.

[18]  J. Metuzals.  CONFIGURATION OF A FILAMENTOUS NETWORK IN THE AXOPLASM OF THE SQUID (LOLIGO PEALII L.) GIANT NERVE FIBER , 1969, The Journal of cell biology.

[19]  M. Swann.  THE DYNAMICS OF LIVING PROTOPLASM. By L. V. HEILBRUNN. New York: Academic Press Inc. Pp. 327. $6.80 , 1956 .

[20]  A. Claude,et al.  PARTICULATE COMPONENTS OF NORMAL AND TUMOR CELLS. , 1940, Science.

[21]  J. Huxley,et al.  The Cell in Development and Heredity , 1925, Nature.

[22]  W. Hardy,et al.  On the structure of cell protoplasm , 1899 .

[23]  R. Chambers,et al.  Micro-Operations on Cells in Tissue Cultures , 1931 .

[24]  G. Piperno,et al.  Flagellar mutants of Chlamydomonas: studies of radial spoke-defective strains by dikaryon and revertant analysis. , 1977, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.