The ultrastructural cytochemistry of peroxisomes in the guinea pig cochlea: a metabolic hypothesis for the stria vascularis.

The roles of catalase and alpha-hydroxyacid oxidase activities are studied in the peroxisomes of the guinea pig inner ear. The major activities are located primarily in the intermediate cells of the stria vascularis. The peroxisomes of the stria vascularis behave cytochemically in a similar fashion to those found in the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney. This study indicates that the stria vascularis may behave as a compartmentalized metabolic system.