It is really likely that some of the patterns in electron micrographs (even though they were taken decades ago) can still reveal some of the unique ultrastructural architecture that cells possess, even new and useful data. (This is an apologetic of sorts, since I don’t have the latest in tomographic equipment or a wet lab but still find amazing structures in the old TEMs i have lying around.) So these images are offshoots of a previous post on mitochondrial substructure, and I noticed two new things in this same micrograph. That is:

1) that one of the mRNA and ribosomal spirals has a dense center and from it radiate spokes (red arrow in left and top middle images) and…

2) there is a portion of mitochondrial matrix? intra cristae? area which is clearly organized into repeating parallel layers with central dots.  (this is best seen in the images to the far right. The boundary between mitochondrion and RER is black dotted line, lower images on right; black box on left is area enlarged (top and bottom middle) one with contrast enhanced (bottom) and one set of mRNA+ribosomes spiral, and black line marking line likely mRNA, and to the left at the red dots a vertically oriented multilayered organization of mitochondrial (membrane?) cristae…  the black box surrounding this particular area of interest denotes the two images to the most right.  There is no question about the organization of vertical-parallel lines, and dots.  These are the blue dots in the two lower right hand figures. Vertical lines with vertical organization of the rounded densities is quite striking (upper right). This is mouse liver, neg 6118, block 5220 and from my notes it received tween and PP5 at 50mg/kg and this is a 72 hours necropsy. Right top is same as right bottom, where the central dense dots and outer dense line – substructure is observed.