scholarly journals ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF ORAL CELLS IN VITRO

1968 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kumegawa ◽  
M. Cattoni ◽  
George G. Rose

Two special areas involving membranous components in strain KB cells were studied by electron microscopy. The first area described is that of the subsurface regions of two apposing cells in which flattened cisternae (one cisternae in each subsurface region) with membranes spaced 110–230 A apart were found in a confrontation alignment. The long dimension of the profiles of these cisternae ranges from 0.5 to 2 µ. At these intercellular contact areas, each cisterna is closely applied to the adjacent plasma membrane; the intervening space is 60–100 A. We have named the cisternae in these roughly symmetrical areas of cell contact the subsurface confronting cisternae. Communications between these cisternae and those of the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum also were observed. The second area described is that of the intracytoplasmic confronting cisternae. These cisternae were observed as oval or round images about 0.3–1.4 µ in diameter, each image being composed of a pair of concentrically arranged confronting cisternae with membranes spaced 200–400 A apart. The apposing membranes of the two confronting cisternae are electron opaque, smooth, and free of ribosomes, whereas the unapposed membranes are less dense, scalloped, and associated with ribosomes. The spacing between the two intracytoplasmic confronting cisternae is 70–110 A.

Author(s):  
T. G. Sarphie ◽  
C. R. Comer ◽  
D. J. Allen

Previous ultrastructural studies have characterized surface morphology during norma cell cycles in an attempt to associate specific changes with specific metabolic processes occurring within the cell. It is now known that during the synthetic ("S") stage of the cycle, when DNA and other nuclear components are synthesized, a cel undergoes a doubling in volume that is accompanied by an increase in surface area whereby its plasma membrane is elaborated into a variety of processes originally referred to as microvilli. In addition, changes in the normal distribution of glycoproteins and polysaccharides derived from cell surfaces have been reported as depreciating after cellular transformation by RNA or DNA viruses and have been associated with the state of growth, irregardless of the rate of proliferation. More specifically, examination of the surface carbohydrate content of synchronous KB cells were shown to be markedly reduced as the cell population approached division Comparison of hamster kidney fibroblasts inhibited by vinblastin sulfate while in metaphase with those not in metaphase demonstrated an appreciable decrease in surface carbohydrate in the former.


Author(s):  
M. A. Hayat

Potassium permanganate has been successfully employed to study membranous structures such as endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, plastids, plasma membrane and myelin sheath. Since KMnO4 is a strong oxidizing agent, deposition of manganese or its oxides account for some of the observed contrast in the lipoprotein membranes, but a good deal of it is due to the removal of background proteins either by dehydration agents or by volatalization under the electron beam. Tissues fixed with KMnO4 exhibit somewhat granular structure because of the deposition of large clusters of stain molecules. The gross arrangement of membranes can also be modified. Since the aim of a good fixation technique is to preserve satisfactorily the cell as a whole and not the best preservation of only a small part of it, a combination of a mixture of glutaraldehyde and acrolein to obtain general preservation and KMnO4 to enhance contrast was employed to fix plant embryos, green algae and fungi.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 908-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Powell ◽  
Charles E. Bracker ◽  
David J. Sternshein

The cytological events involved in the transformation of vegetative hyphae of the zygomycete Gilbertella persicaria (Eddy) Hesseltine into chlamydospores were studied with light and electron microscopy. Thirty hours after sporangiospores were inoculated into YPG broth, swellings appeared along the aseptate hyphae. Later, septa, traversed by plasmodesmata, delimited each end of the hyphal swellings and compartmentalized these hyphal regions as they differentiated into chlamydospores. Nonswollen regions adjacent to chlamydospores remained as isthmuses. Two additional wall layers appeared within the vegetative wall of the developing chlamydospores. An alveolate, electron-dense wall formed first, and then an electron-transparent layer containing concentrically oriented fibers formed between this layer and the plasma membrane. Rather than a mere condensation of cytoplasm, development and maturation of the multinucleate chlamydospores involved extensive cytoplasmic changes such as an increase in reserve products, lipid and glycogen, an increase and then disappearance of vacuoles, and the breakdown of many mitochondria. Underlying the plasma membrane during chlamydospore wall formation were endoplasmic reticulum, multivesicular bodies, vesicles with fibrillar contents, vesicles with electron-transparent contents, and cisternal rings containing the Golgi apparatus marker enzyme, thiamine pyrophosphatase. Acid phosphatase activity was localized cytochemically in a cisterna which enclosed mitochondria and in vacuoles which contained membrane fragments. Tightly packed membrane whorls and single membrane bounded sacs with finely granular matrices surrounding vacuoles were unique during chlamydospore development. Microbodies were rare in the mature chlamydospore, but endoplasmic reticulum was closely associated with lipid globules. As chlamydospores developed, the cytoplasm in the isthmus became highly vacuolated, lipid globules were closely associated with vacuoles, mitochondria were broken down in vacuoles, unusual membrane configurations appeared, and eventually the membranes degenerated. Unlike chlamydospores, walls of the isthmus did not thicken, but irregularly shaped appositions containing numerous channels formed at intervals on the inside of these walls. The pattern of cytoplasmic transformations during chlamydospore development is similar to events leading to the formation of zygospores and sporangiospores.


1964 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burton Goldberg ◽  
Howard Green

In vitro synthesis of collagen by established mouse fibroblast lines has been examined by electron microscopy. During rapid growth (log phase), when collagen could not be detected in the cultures, the cells lacked a well developed granular ergastoplasm and Golgi system. Upon cessation of growth (stationary phase), collagen accumulated in the cultures and the cells demonstrated highly developed granular and smooth ergastoplasm. Collagen appeared to be synthesized in the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and to be transported as a soluble protein to the cell surface by vesicular elements of the agranular ergastoplasm. Fusion of the limiting membranes of these vesicles with the cell membrane permitted the discharge of the soluble collagen into the extracellular space, where fibrils of two diameter distributions formed. The secretion of collagen is concluded to be of the merocrine type. Alternative theories of collagen secretion are discussed and the data for established lines compared with the results of other in vitro and in vivo studies of collagen fibrillogenesis.


1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
J C Lewis ◽  
J T O’Flaherty ◽  
C M McCall ◽  
R L Wykle

PAF (l-0-alkyl-2-0-acetyl-sn-gylcero-3-phosphocholine) induces polymorphonucelar leukocyte and platelet stasis in rabbit lung capillaries in vitro and produces a model of acute respiratory disease. Since PAF mediates anaphylactic reactions, a study was done to determine the ultrastructural effects of PAF treatment. Mature rabbits were treated by intravenous administration of either PAF (0.15-10 μg/kg: 8 animals) or BSA (the PAF carrier: 3 animals) prior to sacrifice and intraventricular perfusion with 0.1 M phosphate buffered (pH 7.2) glutaraldehyde (2.5%). Animals (n=5) injected with a high concentration of PAF (3-10 μg/kg) and sacrificed within 15 minutes of PAF administration had grossly contracted lungs, the vasculature of which (as observed by scanning electron microscopy) contained numerous marginated leukocytes and platelet aggregates. Animals (n=3) given PAF in the concentration range 0.15-2.4 μg/kg had less consistent lung contraction and fewer platelet aggregates within capillaries. Luminal surfaces of capillary endothelial cells in all PAF treated animals (when observed by transmission electron microscopy [TEM]) were dramatically altered. In contrast to the uniformly smooth surfaces in control animals, vessels in the PAF treated animals had tortuous surfaces with plasma membrane discontinuities and protrusion of plasma membrane fragments into the capillary lumen. Morphometric analysis of TEM micrographs substantiated statistically significant (p<0.01) increases in the number and size of plasmalemmal vesicles.These observations clearly document a cytotoxic effect for capillary endothelium. This cytotoxic action may in part explain the clinical effect of PAF.


2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 3289-3298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfram Antonin ◽  
Claudia Holroyd ◽  
Ritva Tikkanen ◽  
Stefan Höning ◽  
Reinhard Jahn

Endobrevin/VAMP-8 is an R-SNARE localized to endosomes, but it is unknown in which intracellular fusion step it operates. Using subcellular fractionation and quantitative immunogold electron microscopy, we found that endobrevin/VAMP-8 is present on all membranes known to communicate with early endosomes, including the plasma membrane, clathrin-coated pits, late endosomes, and membranes of thetrans-Golgi network. Affinity-purified antibodies that block the ability of endobrevin/VAMP-8 to form SNARE core complexes potently inhibit homotypic fusion of both early and late endosomes in vitro. Fab fragments were as active as intact immunoglobulin Gs. Recombinant endobrevin/VAMP-8 inhibited both fusion reactions with similar potency. We conclude that endobrevin/VAMP-8 operates as an R-SNARE in the homotypic fusion of early and late endosomes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1454-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Fry ◽  
S. B. McIver

Light and electron microscopy were used to observe development of the lateral palatal brush in Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae. Development was sampled at 4-h intervals from second- to third-instar ecdyses. Immediately after second-instar ecdysis, the epidermis apolyses from newly deposited cuticle in the lateral palatal pennicular area to form an extensive extracellular cavity into which the fourth-instar lateral palatal brush filaments grow as cytoplasmic extensions. On reaching their final length, the filaments deposit cuticulin, inner epicuticle, and procuticle sequentially on their outer surfaces. The lateral palatal crossbars, on which the lateral palatal brush filaments insert, form after filament development is complete. At the beginning of development, the organelles involved in plasma membrane and cuticle production are located at the base and middle of the cells. As the filament rudiments grow, most rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and Golgi apparatus move to the apex of the epidermal cells and into the filament rudiments. After formation of the lateral palatal brush filaments and lateral palatal crossbars, extensive organelle breakdown occurs. Lateral palatal brush formation is unusual in that no digestion and resorption of old endocuticle occurs prior to deposition of new cuticle. No mucopolysaccharide secretion by the lateral palatal brush epidermis was observed, nor were muscle fibres observed to attach to the lateral palatal crossbars, as has been suggested by other workers.


1965 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mcd. Tormey

The accumulation of ferritin by the ciliary epithelium of the adult albino rabbit has been studied by electron microscopy. The experiments have been carried out under in vitro conditions, such that any uptake observed should be the result of passive diffusion of the tracerparticles rather than the product of active metabolic processes. The cells were fixed in osmium tetroxide and embedded in Araldite. Ferritin was found localized in three areas: in rows of apparent vesicles, free in the cytoplasmic matrix, and in the basement membrane. Some of the conclusions reached are as follows. The appearance of tracer in rows of vesicles is not in itself an adequate demonstration of pinocytosis. The permeability of the plasma membrane is drastically increased by osmium tetroxide fixation, so that tracer particles are free to diffuse across the membrane and wander through the cytoplasm. These results indicate the serious danger of being misled by artifacts when colloidal particles are used as tracers.


1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (24) ◽  
pp. 2958-2977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Maze ◽  
Shu-Chang Lin

In Stipa elmeri Piper & Brodie ex Scribn., the pollen tube enters at the filiform apparatus of the degenerated synergid. The degenerated synergid has electron-dense cytoplasm in which organelles are not discernible. All other cells of the mature megagametophyte have nuclei, endoplasmic reticulum, plastids, mitochondria, dictyosomes, and vacuoles. Starch is found in the persistent synergid (in minute quantities), egg, and central cell. Lipids occur in the persistent synergid, central cell, and antipodals. The filiform apparatuses of the two synergids are hypothesized to perform different functions. In the degenerated synergid, the filiform apparatus serves to increase the surface area of the plasma membrane and thereby to offer a large area for pollen-tube-growth-directing compounds to diffuse out of the synergid. In the persistent synergid, the filiform apparatus is part of a suite of features which indicate that the persistent synergid is involved in the transference of materials into the megagametophyte. Another possible function of the persistent synergid is to aid in establishing the polarity of the egg. The pollen grain and tube have distinctive polysaccharide spheres that serve to delimit the pollen tube cytoplasm after discharge into the degenerated synergid. Associated with the degenerated synergid are bodies of dense materials as seen under electron microscopy, and bodies of RNA and protein as determined histochemically. These are probably the same thing and come from the degenerating synergid. The antipodals are the most cytologically active cells of the megagametophyte. They have some features which are characteristic of transfer cells and possibly function in the transference of materials into the megagametophyte. Other studies (Brink and Cooper 1944) have indicated that grass antipodals are involved in the control of endosperm development. The active cytoplasm of the antipodals may reflect the synthesis or transference of growth-controlling substances.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (51) ◽  
pp. e2114126118
Author(s):  
Walaa E. Kattan ◽  
Junchen Liu ◽  
Dina Montufar-Solis ◽  
Hong Liang ◽  
Bhargavi Brahmendra Barathi ◽  
...  

KRAS is mutated in 90% of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs). To function, KRAS must localize to the plasma membrane (PM) via a C-terminal membrane anchor that specifically engages phosphatidylserine (PtdSer). This anchor-binding specificity renders KRAS–PM localization and signaling capacity critically dependent on PM PtdSer content. We now show that the PtdSer lipid transport proteins, ORP5 and ORP8, which are essential for maintaining PM PtdSer levels and hence KRAS PM localization, are required for KRAS oncogenesis. Knockdown of either protein, separately or simultaneously, abrogated growth of KRAS-mutant but not KRAS–wild-type pancreatic cancer cell xenografts. ORP5 or ORP8 knockout also abrogated tumor growth in an immune-competent orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse model. Analysis of human datasets revealed that all components of this PtdSer transport mechanism, including the PM-localized EFR3A-PI4KIIIα complex that generates phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–localized SAC1 phosphatase that hydrolyzes counter transported PI4P, are significantly up-regulated in pancreatic tumors compared to normal tissue. Taken together, these results support targeting PI4KIIIα in KRAS-mutant cancers to deplete the PM-to-ER PI4P gradient, reducing PM PtdSer content. We therefore repurposed the US Food and Drug Administration–approved hepatitis C antiviral agent, simeprevir, as a PI4KIIIα inhibitor In a PDAC setting. Simeprevir potently mislocalized KRAS from the PM, reduced the clonogenic potential of pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro, and abrogated the growth of KRAS-dependent tumors in vivo with enhanced efficacy when combined with MAPK and PI3K inhibitors. We conclude that the cellular ER-to-PM PtdSer transport mechanism is essential for KRAS PM localization and oncogenesis and is accessible to therapeutic intervention.


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