Studies on the Cytochemistry of Proteins

Cytochemistry can, in principle, provide information concerning a) the distributions of proteins in cells, b) the sites of synthesis of proteins, c) the sites of degradation of proteins and d) the physiological significance or action of proteins. To provide this information a great variety of methods is necessary. At present there are few methods available, and of these few, most are either known to be inadequate or not yet proved to be sound. Among the reasons for this unsatisfactory state of affairs is the fact that many of the methods are those of the biochemist, intended originally for use on the test-tube scale, applied virtually unchanged to the cytological level. In this paper several new methods are described which have been designed specifically for cytochemical purposes. Among the points to which particular attention was paid in the designing of these methods were 1) the need for avoiding reactions...