scholarly journals THE SARCOPLASMIC RETICULUM IN MUSCLE CELLS OF AMBLYSTOMA LARVAE

1956 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith R. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Constant Width ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
System A ◽  
Structural Relationships ◽  
Complex Membrane

Electron microscopy of thin sections of muscle fibers in myotomes of Amblystoma larvae has revealed the presence of a complex, membrane-limited system of canaliculi and vesicles which form a lace-like reticulum around and among the myofibrils. This seems to correspond to the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the earlier light microscopists and the endoplasmic reticulum of other cell types. The elements constituting the reticulum are disposed in a pattern which bears a constant relation to the bands of the adjacent myofibrils and is therefore repeated in each sarcomere. At the H band the system is transversely continuous but not so at other levels. Longitudinally continuity is interrupted at the Z bands where large vesicles belonging to adjacent sarcomere segments of the system face off on opposite sides of the band. The opposing faces of these vesicles are flat and separated by a space of more or less constant width, in which are located small, finger-shaped vesicles. In view of these and other close structural relationships with the myofibrils it seems appropriate to assign to the system a role in the conduction of the excitatory impulse.

scholarly journals STUDIES ON THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

1957 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith R. Porter ◽  
George E. Palade
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Entire System ◽  
Structural Components ◽  
Reticular Structure ◽  
Vacuolar System

Several types of striated muscle have been examined by the technics of electron microscopy and the findings in myotome fibers of Amblystoma larvae, the sartorius, and cardiac muscle of the rat are reported on in some detail. Particular attention has been given to structural components of the interfibrillar sarcoplasm and most especially to a finely divided, vacuolar system known as the sarcoplasmic reticulum. This consists of membrane-limited vesicles, tubules, and cisternae associated in a continuous reticular structure which forms lace-like sleeves around the myofibrils. It shows a definable organization which repeats with each sarcomere of the fiber so that the entire system is segmented in phase with the striations of the associated myofibrils. Details of these repetitive patterns are presented diagrammatically in Text-figs. 1, 2, and 3 on pages 279, 283, and 288 respectively. The system is continuous across the fiber at the H band level and largely discontinuous longitudinally because of interruptions in the structure at the I and Z band levels. The structure of the system relates it to the endoplasmic reticulum of other cell types. The precise morphological relation of the reticulum to the myofibrils, with specializations opposite the different bands, prompts the supposition that the system is functionally important in muscle contraction. In this regard it is proposed that the membrane limiting the system is polarized like the sarcolemma and that the corresponding potential difference is utilized in the intracellular distribution of the excitatory impulse.

Immunoprobe localization in mammalian embryos

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-33
Author(s):  
Patricia G. Calarco ◽  
Margaret C. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Mammalian Embryos ◽  
Antigen Localization ◽  
Difficult Challenge ◽  
Lowicryl K4m ◽  
Fertilized Egg

Visualization of preimplantation mammalian embryos by electron microscopy is difficult due to the large size of the ircells, their relative lack of internal structure, and their highly hydrated cytoplasm. For example, the fertilized egg of the mouse is a single cell of approximately 75μ in diameter with little organized cytoskelet on and apaucity ofor ganelles such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi material. Thus, techniques that work well on tissues or cell lines are often not adaptable to embryos at either the LM or EM level.Over several years we have perfected techniques for visualization of mammalian embryos by LM and TEM, SEM and for the pre-embedding localization of antigens. Post-embedding antigenlocalization in thin sections of mouse oocytes and embryos has presented a more difficult challenge and has been explored in LR White, LR Gold, soft EPON (after etching of sections), and Lowicryl K4M. To date, antigen localization has only been achieved in Lowicryl-embedded material, although even with polymerization at-40°C, the small ER vesicles characteristic of embryos are unrecognizable.

Polymorphous endocytotic organelles in the receptor-mediated endocytosis of gold-labelled alpha 2-macroglobulin complexes by human fibroblasts

1985 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 411-421
Author(s):  
B. Van der Schueren ◽  
D. Gasser ◽  
P. Marynen ◽  
F. Van Leuven ◽  
G. David ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Human Fibroblasts ◽  
Cellular Structures ◽  
Multivesicular Bodies ◽  
Staining Reaction ◽  
Human Skin Fibroblasts ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Receptor Mediated Endocytosis ◽  
Gold Label

The receptor-mediated endocytosis of gold-labelled alpha 2-macroglobulin complexes with trypsin or methylamine (alpha 2M-T-Au or alpha 2M-MA-Au) was studied by electron microscopy in human skin fibroblasts. The gold label was found in coated structures and very small tubules as well as in tubulovesicular structures and in multivesicular bodies/lysosomes. Thick sections (200 nm), but especially serial thin sections, clearly showed the polymorphic character of the cellular structures involved in endocytosis. Numerous intercommunications were particularly obvious between the tubulovesicular structures, the larger vesicles and the multivesicular bodies (MVB). Continuities between MVBs and endoplasmic reticulum and interconnections between MVBs were also observed. The specificity of the staining reaction was confirmed by indirect labelling of intracellular alpha 2M by polyclonal and by monoclonal antibodies on ultracryosections. These findings are discussed in relation to observations made on epithelial cells with other ligands.

Simplified procedures for releasing and concentrating microorganisms from soil for transmission electron microscopy viewing as thin-sectioned and frozen-etched preparations

1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Balkwill ◽  
D. P. Labeda ◽  
L. E. Casida Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Soil Slurry ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Choice Of Procedure ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Cell Release ◽  
Simplified Procedures ◽  
Simplified Procedure

A simplified procedure is presented for releasing and concentrating indigenous microbial cells from soil for viewing by transmission electron microscopy as thin sections or replicas of frozen-etched preparations. This procedure is compared with two others reported earlier, and their relative merits are discussed as concerns the choice of procedure for the cellular information desired from the soil. Freeze-etching showed that the cell types and size distributions for cells which have been released and concentrated from soil are in general agreement with those for cells in a crude soil slurry in which no attempt to release and concentrate cells was made. Microcolonies were present both in the crude slurry and in the discard soil debris centrifugation pellets from the cell release and concentration procedures. In contrast to the historic assumptions, these microcolonies, as well as some individual cells embedded in soil debris could not be broken up and (or) dislodged so that they would be washed from the soil. The relative numbers of these cells remaining with the soil debris, however, could not be quantitated in the present study.

A Mechanism for Both Capacitative Ca2+ Entry and Excitation-Contraction Coupled Ca2+ Release by the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum of Skeletal Muscle Cells

2002 ◽  
Vol 227 (6) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Naimul Islam ◽  
Bisni Narayanan ◽  
Raymond S. Ochs
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Release Channel ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Combined Channel ◽  
Uncompetitive Inhibitor

We have previously established that L6 skeletal muscle cell cultures display capacitative calcium entry (CCE), a phenomenon established with other cells in which Ca2+ uptake from outside cells increases when the endoplasmic reticulum (sarcoplasmic reticulum in muscle, or SR) store is decreased. Evidence for CCE rested on the use of thapsigargin (Tg), an inhibitor of the SR CaATPase and consequently transport of Ca2+ from cytosol to SR, and measurements of cytosolic Ca2+. When Ca2+ is added to Ca2+-free cells in the presence of Tg, the measured cytosolic Ca2+ rises. This has been universally interpreted to mean that as SR Ca2+ is depleted, exogenous Ca2+ crosses the plasma membrane, but accumulates in the cytosol due to CaATPase inhibition. Our goal in the present study was to examine CCE in more detail by measuring Ca2+ in both the SR lumen and the cytosol using established fluorescent dye techniques for both. Surprisingly, direct measurement of SR Ca2+ in the presence of Tg showed an increase in luminal Ca2+ concentration in response to added exogenous Ca2+. While we were able to reproduce the conventional demonstration of CCE—an increase of Ca2+ in the cytosol in the presence of thapsigargin—we found that this process was inhibited by the prior addition of ryanodine (Ry), which inhibits the SR Ca2+ release channel, the ryanodine receptor (RyR). This was also unexpected if Ca2+ enters the cytosol first. When Ca2+ was added prior to Ry, the later was unable to exert any inhibition. This implies a competitive interaction between Ca2+ and Ry at the RyR. In addition, we found a further paradox: we had previously found Ry to be an uncompetitive inhibitor of Ca2+ transport through the RyR during excitation-contraction coupling. We also found here that high concentrations of Ca2+ inhibited its own uptake, a known feature of the RyR. We confirmed that Ca2+ enters the cells through the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR, also known as the L-channel) by demonstrating inhibition by diltiazem. A previous suggestion to the contrary had used Mn2+ in place of direct Ca2+ measurements; we showed that Mn2+ was not inhibited by diltiazem and was not capacitative, and thus not an appropriate probe of Ca2+ flow in muscle cells. Our findings are entirely explained by a new model whereby Ca2+ enters the SR from the extracellular space directly through a combined channel formed from the DHPR and the RyR. These are known to be in close proximity in skeletal muscle. Ca2+ subsequently appears in the cytosol by egress through a separate, unoccupied RyR, explaining Ry inhibition. We suggest that upon excitation, the DHPR, in response to the electrical field of the plasma membrane, shifts to an erstwhile-unoccupied receptor, and Ca2+ is released from the now open RyR to trigger contraction. We discuss how this model also resolves existing paradoxes in the literature, and its implications for other cell types.

scholarly journals Ultracytochemistry of calmodulin binding sites in myocardial cells by staining of frozen thin sections with colloidal gold-labeled calmodulin.

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Fujimoto ◽  
N Araki ◽  
K S Ogawa ◽  
S Kondo ◽  
T Kitaoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Colloidal Gold ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Myocardial Cells ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Calmodulin Binding ◽  
Tissue Sections

Calmodulin (CaM) has been implicated as a multifunctional regulator of Ca2+ in the cytoplasm of cells. We have recently introduced biologically active colloidal gold-labeled CaM as a marker for identifying potential CaM binding sites (unoccupied by endogenous CaM at the time of fixation) by electron microscopy and have stained frozen thin sections of rat cardiac muscle with this conjugate. In the presence of Ca2+, gold particles indicating CaM binding sites were found localized on the sarcoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and gap junctions. Control tissue sections treated with EGTA or exposed to excess amounts of unlabeled native CaM before staining showed no binding. We believe that cytochemistry of potential CaM binding sites revealed by staining with labeled exogenous CaM is useful in correlating known biochemical reactions of CaM with particular cell activities.

scholarly journals "Reticular" and "Areticular" Nissl Bodies in Sympathetic Neurons of a Lizard

1959 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Sympathetic Neurons ◽  
Sympathetic Ganglia ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Phrynosoma Cornutum ◽  
Reticular Structure ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Partial Dispersion ◽  
Nissl Substance

Sympathetic ganglia of the horned lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum, were fixed in OsO4 and imbedded in methacrylate. Thin sections were cut for electron microscopy. Some adjacent thick sections were cut for light microscopy and were stained in acidified, dilute thionine both before and after digestion by RNase. In the light microscope two types of Nissl bodies are found, both removable by RNase: (1) a deep, diffuse, indistinctly bounded, metachromatic variety, and (2) a superficial, dense, sharply delimited, orthochromatic sort. Electron microscopically, the former ("reticular" Nissl bodies) corresponds to the granulated endoplasmic reticular structure of Nissl material previously described by others, whereas the latter ("areticular" Nissl bodies) comprises compact masses of particles of varying internal density and devoid of elements of endoplasmic reticulum. The constituent particles of the areticular Nissl material are 4 to 8 x the diameter of single ribonucleoprotein granules of the reticular Nissl substance and seem, near zones of junction with the reticular type, to arise by clustering of such granules with subsequent partial dispersion of the substance of the granules into an added, less dense material. It is suggested that the observed orthochromasia of the areticular Nissl substance is due to accumulation of a large amount of protein bound to RNA and, further, that these Nissl bodies may represent storage depots of RNA and protein.

Quantitative Estimation of the Loss of Membrane Images Resulting From Oblique Sectioning of Biological Membranes

1967 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 144-145
Author(s):  
Alden V. Loud
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Liver Cell ◽  
Quantitative Estimation ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Liver Parenchymal ◽  
Qualitative Interpretation ◽  
Considerable Length ◽  
Parenchymal Cells

Williams and Kallman pointed out one of the major artifacts in the electron microscopy of biological thin sections, namely, the failure to form images of membranes which are inclined at large angles within the section. This loss is a significant consideration in the qualitative interpretation of electron micrographs and especially in the quantitative assay of endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial cristae membranes. In order to estimate the effective loss of membrane images it would be desirable to use a specimen which provides a considerable length of membrane tilted at a known angle and a simple method of measuring its “visibility”. The spherical nuclear envelopes of rat liver parenchymal cells satisfy these conditions. Figure 1 shows part of a binucleate liver cell in which the nuclear membrane is clearly visible around the larger section but blurred by oblique orientation in the smaller section.

scholarly journals Analytical electron microscopic study of mitochondrial inclusions in canine myocardial infarcts.

1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
L M Buja ◽  
J H Dees ◽  
D F Harling ◽  
J T Willerson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Microscopic Study ◽  
Electron Microscopic Study ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Analytical Electron Microscopy ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Mitochondrial Inclusions ◽  
Analytical Electron

An analytical electron microscopic study, utilizing scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, was made of two types of mitochondrial inclusions identified in canine myocardial infarcts. The data were obtained from thin sections of tissues that were fixed in aldehyde, osmicated and embedded in epoxy resin. Calcium peaks of variable intensity were detected in inclusions which contained very electron-dense spicular material and which were localized to muscle cells at the peripheries of the infarcts. These findings indicate that the spicular inclusions represent early stages in the process of mitochondrial calcification in myocardial infarcts. In contrast, calcium or other trace elements were not detected in moderately electron-dense amorphous inclusions which were present in mitochondria of muscle cells throughout the infarcts. With the tissue preparative techniques employed, the possibility cannot be excluded that the amorphous inclusions contained calcium, either in small amounts or in a readily diffusable state, in vivo. The data, however, are in accord with the previously advanced hypothesis that the amorphous inclusions represent precipitates of denatured mitochondrial protein formed during the evolution of irreversible cellular injury. This study provides further evidence that analytical electron microscopy can yield important information regarding the nature of various inclusions occurring in normal and diseased tissues.

Hepatic Subcellular Compartmentation of Cytoplasmic Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase Determined by Immunogold Electron Microscopy

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-161
Author(s):  
Kuixiong Gao ◽  
Emma Lou Cardell ◽  
Randal E. Morris ◽  
Bruce F. Giffin ◽  
Robert R. Cardell
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Subcellular Distribution ◽  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Immunogold Electron Microscopy ◽  
Immunogold Staining ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Gold Particles

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is the rate-limiting gluconeogenic enzyme and in liver occurs in a lobular gradient from periportal to pericentral regions. The subcellular distribution of cytoplasmic PEPCK molecules within hepatocytes and its relationship to organelles have not been determined previously. In this study, we have used immunogold electron microscopy to evaluate the subcellar distribution of the enzyme, in addition to brightfield and epipolarized light microscopy. Cryosections (10 μm) of perfusion-fixed rat liver were collected on silanated slides and immunostained using goat anti-rat PEPCK followed by 5-nm gold-labeled secondary and tertiary antibodies. Additionally, free-floating vibratome sections (25, 50, and 100 μm) of perfusion-immersion-fixed rat liver were immunogold stained using goat anti-rat PEPCK and 5-nm gold-labeled secondary antibody, with and without silver enhancement. The immunogold labeled sections from both procedures were embedded in epoxy resin for the preparation of thin sections for electron microscopy. The results showed that the gold-labeled antibodies penetrated the entire thickness of cryosections, resulting in a high signal for PEPCK, but membranes in general, the smooth endoplasmic reticulum in particular, were not identifiable as electron dense unit membranes. On the other hand, the vibratome sections of well-fixed tissue allowed good visualization of the ultrastructure of cellular organelles, with the smooth endoplasmic reticulum appearing as vesicles and tubules with electron dense unit membranes; however, the penetration of the gold-labeled antibody was limited to cells at the surface of the vibratome sections. In both procedures, PEPCK, as indicated by gold particles, is predominantly in the glycogen areas of the cytosome and not in mitochondria, nuclei, Golgi apparatus, or other cell organelles. Hepatocytes in periportal regions have a compact subcellular distribution of PEPCK shown by gold particles; hepatocytes in pericentral regions have a diffuse subcellular distribution of PEPCK and thus more scattered gold particles. When normal serum replaced the first antibody in the immunogold staining procedures, the background was very low.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document