[Histonet] Oocyte (frog) embedding and sectioning

[Peter Reed]

I'm fishing for any insights into embedding and sectioning Xenopus oocytes.  
I have two main problems: Oocytes don't always stay in the block, as if they 
are not perfused with paraffin; Sections shatter on the blade or on water 
bath before mounting to slide.  Have attempted several strategies: 
pretreatment with proteinase K to remove membrane, fixing in MEMFA 1h 
followed by PBS rinses and PBS storage, fixing in MEMFA overnight then 
proceeding directly to dehydration and embedding, using Paraplast and 
PolyFin, changing blade angle between 2.5 and 10 degrees.

Thanks,
Peter Reed
Stem Cell Institute
University of Minnesota
peterntreed <@t> hotmail.com

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