scholarly journals The isolation and subfractionation of plasma membrane from the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum

1974 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita A. Green ◽  
Peter C. Newell

A procedure for the isolation and separation of three different subfractions of plasma membrane from the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum is described. The cells were disrupted by freeze-thawing in liquid N2 and plasma membranes were purified by equilibrium centrifugation in a sucrose gradient. The cell surface was labelled with radioactive iodide by using the lactoperoxidase iodination method. Alkaline phosphatase was identified as a plasma-membrane marker by its co-distribution with [125I]iodide. 5′-Nucleotidase, which has been widely described as a plasma-membrane marker enzyme in mammalian tissues, was not localized to any marked extent in D. discoideum plasma membrane. The isolated plasma membranes showed a 24-fold enrichment of alkaline phosphatase specific activity relative to the homogenate and a yield of 50% of the total plasma membranes. Determination of succinate dehydrogenase and NADPH–cytochrome c reductase activities indicated that the preparation contained 2% of the total mitochondria and 3% of the endoplasmic reticulum. When the plasma-membrane preparation was further disrupted in a tight-fitting homogenizer, three plasma-membrane subfractions of different densities were obtained by isopycnic centrifugation. The enrichment of alkaline phosphatase was greatest in the subfraction with the lowest density. This fraction was enriched 36-fold relative to the homogenate and contained 19% of the total alkaline phosphatase activity but only 0.08% of the succinate dehydrogenase activity and 0.34% of the NADPH–cytochrome c reductase activity. Electron microscopy of this fraction showed it to consist of smooth membrane vesicles with no recognizable contaminants.

1981 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-198
Author(s):  
K. Aoi ◽  
Y. Fujii-Kuriyama ◽  
Y. Tashiro

NADPH-cytochrome c reductase was purified from rat liver microsomes and the monospecific antibodies to the reductase were prepared from the antiserum by affinity chromatography using immunoadsorbent gel. Ferritin was coupled to the specific antibodies and the approximately equimolar conjugates were isolated by gel filtration. By direct ferritin-immunoelectron microscopy, using these conjugates, it was revealed that the ferritin particles are localized exclusively on the microsomal vesicles and the outer nuclear envelope. In contrast, binding of ferritin particles to Golgi membranes, outer mitochondrial membranes and plasma membranes was slight and at control level. On each microsomal vesicle, the ferritin particles were distributed heterogeneously, sometimes forming clusters. An assay of the binding of equimolar conjugates with microsomes showed that microsomes bind approximately 1 mol of antibody per mol of reductase. From these data the maximum number of ferritin particles that can bind with microsomes was calculated. This number is in agreement with the average number of ferritin particles bound per microsome, as determined experimentally by observing a number of cross-sectional profiles of microsomal vesicles previously incubated with the conjugates at saturation level. This showed that the distribution of the reductase could be analysed semi-quantitatively by the present ferritin-immunoelectron-microscopical analyses. It was also shown that smooth microsomes can bind more conjugates than rough microsomes. The average number of ferritin particles on each microsomal vesicle increased in proportion to the increase in the amount of reductase in the microsomes after treatment with phenobarbital. Finally, the non-random distribution of ferritin particles on microsomal vesicles was confirmed by statistical analysis of electron micrographs of a number of the labelled microsomes.


1984 ◽  
Vol 246 (6) ◽  
pp. F853-F858
Author(s):  
A. K. Mircheff ◽  
H. E. Ives ◽  
V. J. Yee ◽  
D. G. Warnock

A conventional brush border membrane preparation, obtained by divalent cation precipitation of homogenates of rabbit renal cortex, was analyzed by countercurrent distribution in an aqueous dextran:polyethylene glycol two-phase system. The resulting fractions were assayed for the presence of the Na+/H+ antiporter and for a variety of biochemical marker enzymes. This analysis revealed four physically distinct membrane populations (A-D). Population A consisted of two subpopulations, A' and A", which were enriched an average of 49-fold in maltase; they were also highly enriched in alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, and Na+/H+ antiporter. On the basis of their marker contents, populations A' and A" appear to represent highly purified, functional brush border membrane vesicles. Population B was enriched twofold in NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and population C was enriched 12-fold in galactosyltransferase. Populations B and C accounted for 25% of the protein in the starting material and appear to reflect contamination of the brush border membrane preparation by subpopulations of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi fragments. Population D was enriched in Na+/H+ antiporter, alkaline phosphatase, leucine aminopeptidase, Na-K-ATPase, and acid phosphatase but not maltase, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase, galactosyltransferase, or succinate dehydrogenase. Its identity is unclear, and it might consist of a multiplicity of populations from different origins.


1970 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W. McKeel ◽  
Leonard Jarett

A rapid method of preparing plasma membranes from isolated fat cells is described. After homogenization of the cells, various fractions were isolated by differential centrifugation and linear gradients. Ficoll gradients were preferred because total preparation time was under 3 hr. The density of the plasma membranes was 1.14 in sucrose. The plasma membrane fraction was virtually uncontaminated by nuclei but contained 10% of the mitochondrial succinic dehydrogenase activity and 25–30% of the RNA and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cytochrome c reductase activity of the microsomal fraction. Part of the RNA and NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity was believed to be native to the plasma membrane or to the attached endoplasmic reticulum membranes demonstrated by electron microscopy. The adenyl cyclase activity of the plasma membrane fraction was five times that of Rodbell's "ghost" preparation and retained sensitivity to epinephrine. The plasma membrane ATPase activity was five times that of the homogenate and microsomal fractions. Electron microscopic evidence suggested contamination of the plasma membrane fraction by other subcellular components to be less than the biochemical data indicated.


1972 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Quance ◽  
J. M. Ashworth

1. Myxamoebae of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum Ax-2 were grown on different media, and were harvested either in the stationary or exponential phases of the growth cycle to yield samples of myxamoebae differing in enzymic composition. 2. Morphogenesis and cell differentiation phenomena in D. discoideum appear to be similar in myxamoebae grown and harvested under different conditions. 3. The specific activity of the enzymes β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, acid phosphatase, α-mannosidase, β-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase have been determined during cell differentiation of myxamoebae grown and harvested under different conditions. 4. The pattern of synthesis of these enzymes, all of which have been claimed to be part of the ‘developmental programme’, either remains unaffected despite the origin of the myxamoebae (alkaline phosphatase) or is qualitatively similar but quantitatively affected (acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase) or is both qualitatively and quantitatively affected by changes in the myxamoebae (α-mannosidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase). 5. The implications of these results for the concept of a ‘developmental programme‘ are discussed.


1986 ◽  
Vol 250 (1) ◽  
pp. C65-C75 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. V. Sharma ◽  
R. C. Bhalla

A plasma membrane fraction from bovine carotid arteries has been isolated by extraction of a crude microsomal fraction with a low-ionic-strength buffer containing ATP and Ca2+. This step was followed by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation in the presence of 0.6 M KCl. The plasma membrane vesicles were enriched 60- to 80-fold in Na+-K+-adenosinetriphosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, and phosphodiesterase I activities. The final yields of these marker enzymes were 12-18% of the total activities in the postnuclear supernatant, and the protein yield was 100-120 micrograms/g wet wt of carotid arteries. Contamination of the plasma membrane fraction by mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum was low as judged by low activities of succinate--cytochrome-c reductase and NADPH--cytochrome-c reductase, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoprecipitation with smooth muscle-specific actin antibodies showed that the plasma membrane fraction was substantially free from myosin and actin contamination. The plasma membrane vesicles accumulated Ca2+ in the presence of ATP, and the accumulation was increased by calmodulin. Ca2+ accumulated in the presence or absence of calmodulin could be released almost completely from the vesicles by the addition of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 but not by ethyleneglycol-bis(beta-aminoethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid, indicating that Ca2+ uptake in the presence of ATP is intravesicular. The effects of phosphate and oxalate on Ca2+ uptake in the plasma membranes were different from one another. Phosphate increased Ca2+ uptake in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and the increase in Ca2+ uptake could be observed as early as 1 min. On the other hand, oxalate at concentrations up to 5 mM did not increase Ca2+ uptake significantly during the 30-min incubation. These plasma membranes can prove useful for the study of ion transport across plasma membranes, hormone binding, characterization of calcium channels, and preparation of antibodies against plasma membrane proteins.


1974 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Beaufay ◽  
Alain Amar-Costesec ◽  
Denise Thinès-Sempoux ◽  
Maurice Wibo ◽  
Mariette Robbi ◽  
...  

Rat liver microsomal fractions have been equilibrated in various types of linear density gradients. 15 fractions were collected and assayed for 27 constituents. As a result of this analysis microsomal constituents have been classified, in the order of increasing median density, into four groups labeled a, b, c, and d. Group a includes: monoamine oxidase, galactosyltransferase, 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase, and cholesterol; group b: NADH cytochrome c reductase, NADPH cytochrome c reductase, aminopyrine demethylase, cytochrome b5, and cytochrome P 450; group c: glucose 6-phosphatase, nucleoside diphosphatase, esterase, ß-glucuronidase, and glucuronyltransferase; group d: RNA, membrane-bound ribosomes, and some enzymes probably adsorbed on ribosomes: fumarase, aldolase, and glutamine synthetase. Analysis of the microsomal fraction by differential centrifugation in density gradient has further dissociated group a into constituents which sediment more slowly (monoamine oxidase and galactosyltransferase) than those of groups b and c, and 5'-nucleotidase, alkaline phosphodiesterase I, alkaline phosphatase, and the bulk of cholesterol which sediment more rapidly (group a2). The microsomal monoamine oxidase is attributed, at least partially, to detached fragments of external mitochondrial membrane. Galactosyltransferase belongs to the Golgi complex. Group a2 constituents are related to plasma membranes. Constituents of groups b and c and RNA belong to microsomal vesicles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. These latter exhibit a noticeable biochemical heterogeneity and represent at the most 80% of microsomal protein, the rest being accounted for by particles bearing the constituents of groups a and some contaminating mitochondria, lysosomes, and peroxisomes. Attention is called to the operational meaning of microsomal subfractions and to their cytological complexity.


1988 ◽  
Vol 253 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
M E Dunlop ◽  
R G Larkins

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3], arising from hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2], is proposed as the link between membrane-receptor activation and mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular sites in hormone-secreting cells. The location of Ins(1,4,5)P3-sensitive membranes was investigated in cultured neonatal beta-cells. Membranes were obtained after lysis of cells attached to positively charged Sephadex. After lysis the presence of the enzyme markers 5′-nucleotidase, glucose-6-phosphatase, NADH-cytochrome c reductase, UDP-galactosyltransferase and succinate dehydrogenase indicated the mixed nature of the preparation. After sonication, however, UDP-galactosyltransferase and succinate dehydrogenase activities were undetectable, but 4.8% of total cellular glucose-6-phosphatase and 3.4% of total cellular NADH-cytochrome c reductase remained with 5′-nucleotidase in the preparation, indicating endoplasmic-reticulum association. ATP-dependent 45Ca2+ accumulation was shown in this preparation (410 +/- 24 pmol/mg of protein at 150 nM free Ca2+) and was inhibited by vanadate (100 microM). Ca2+ release was effected by Ins(1,4,5)P3, with half-maximal release at 0.5 +/- 0.14 microM-Ins(1,4,5)P3, t1/2 11.2 +/- 1.1 s. GTP- and guanosine 5′-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG)-promoted release of 45Ca2+ was demonstrated in this preparation, but the kinetics of release (half-maximal Ca2+ release at 5.4 +/- 0.7 microM, with t1/2 77.3 +/- 6.9 s, and at 51.1 +/- 4.2 microM, with t1/2 19.0 +/- 2.2 s, for GTP and p[NH]ppG respectively), and the ability of neomycin sulphate to block p[NH]ppG-induced release only, are indicative of separate release mechanisms after treatment with these agents. A close association between plasma membrane and elements of the endoplasmic reticulum is indicated in this model, providing a possible mechanism for local alterations in free Ca2+ in the sub-plasma-membrane region.


1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (5) ◽  
pp. G480-G490 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kribben ◽  
T. Tyrakowski ◽  
I. Schulz

Mg-ATP-dependent 45Ca2+ uptake and Ca2+-ATPase activity have been examined in isolated microsomes obtained by differential centrifugation and in purified subcellular fractions obtained by Ficoll-sucrose density centrifugation in the presence of mitochondrial inhibitors. Mg-ATP-dependent 45Ca2+ uptake increased with increasing EGTA-buffered free [Ca2+], reaching a maximum of 2 nmol 45Ca2+ X 15 min-1 X mg prot-1 at 2 mumol/1 [Ca2+] in the incubation medium. Half-maximal 45Ca2+ uptake was at approximately 0.2 mumol/1 [Ca2+]. Maximal Ca2+ -Mg2+ -ATPase activity was 130 nmol X 15 min-1 X mg prot-1 at 2 mumol/l [Ca2+], with an apparent Km of approximately 0.3 mumol/l [Ca2+]. The Ca2+ ionophore A23187 (10(-6) mol/l), the mercurial compounds mersalyl (10(-5) mol/l) and CH3ClHg (10(-3) mol/l), as well as La3+ (10(-4) mol/l), vanadate (10(-4) mol/l), and saponin (50 micrograms/mg prot), abolished Mg-ATP-promoted 45Ca2+ uptake. In the absence of Mg2+, ATP did not provoke 45Ca2+ uptake. Using the purified smooth membrane fraction (F1) from the Ficoll-sucrose density gradient (enrichment of Na+-K+-ATPase specific activity by ninefold and of NADH-cytochrome c reductase by threefold as compared with total tissue homogenate), Mg-ATP-dependent 45Ca2+ uptake correlated better with Na+-K+-ATPase (r = 0.97) than with the smooth endoplasmic marker NADH-cytochrome c reductase (r = 0.52). No correlation was found with RNA, the marker for rough endoplasmic reticulum. We conclude that pancreatic plasma membranes contain a Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase that represents the Ca2+ extrusion system from acinar cells. It is also possible that vesicular membrane structures associated with the plasma membrane, or endocytotic plasma membrane vesicles, take up Ca2+ and represent an intracellular Ca2+ pool.


1983 ◽  
Vol 245 (5) ◽  
pp. G661-G667 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Mircheff ◽  
C. C. Lu ◽  
C. N. Conteas

We performed analytical fractionation studies with the goal of isolating basal-lateral and apical membrane vesicles from epithelial cells of rat exorbital lacrimal gland. A density region designated window II contained elements of three physically and biochemically distinct membrane populations. These were resolved by countercurrent distribution in an aqueous polymer two-phase system. One population contained 50% of the NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity recovered from window II and appeared to be of intracellular origin. A second population contained 70% of the recovered Na-K-ATPase, maximally enriched 42-fold with respect to the initial homogenate. This population was the major locus of alanine transport activity, roughly 85% of which was mediated by systems believed to be characteristic of epithelial cell basal-lateral membranes. It also contained portions of the alkaline phosphatase, galactosyltransferase, acid phosphatase, and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities. A third population accounted for 33% of the recovered alkaline phosphatase and was a secondary locus of Na-alanine transport activity, 45% of which could be attributed to systems believed to be characteristic of epithelial cell apical membranes.


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