Formation of Cytoplasmic Granules in Human Eosinophilic Myelocytes: An Electron Microscope Autoradiographic Study

The intracellular flow of tritiated lysine in human eosinophilic myelocytes was studied by electron microscope autoradiography so that information could be obtained on the formation of eosinophil granules. Bone marrow particles obtained from a patient with a marked increase in the number of bone marrow eosinophils were incubated in vitro for periods up to 150 minutes. The percentage of cytoplasmic grains over the Golgi complex rose from 11 percent at 5 minutes to 28 percent by 30 minutes and fell to 15 percent at 150 minutes. Grains over cytoplasmic granules steadily rose to 37 percent by 150 minutes. These results are statistically significant and demonstrate that: human eosinophilic myelocytes are able to form cytoplasmic granules under the in vitro conditions employed, and that intracellular amino acids or proteins flow through the Golgi complex before incorporation into granules.