scholarly journals Electron microscope study of reassociation of spectrin and actin with the human erythrocyte membrane

1981 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tsukita ◽  
S Tsukita ◽  
H Ishikawa ◽  
S Sato ◽  
M Nakao
Keyword(s):  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Fixation Treatment ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Inside Out

Reassociation of spectrin and actin with human erythrocyte membranes was studied by stereoscopic electron microscopy of thin sections combined with tannic acid- glutaraldehyde fixation. Treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with 0.1 mM EDTA (pH 8.0) extracted more than 90 percent of the spectrin and actin and concomitantly removed filamentous meshworks underlying the membranes, followed by fragmentation into small inside-out vesicles. When such spectrin-depleted vesicles were incubated with the EDTA extract (crude spectrin), a filamentous meshwork, similar to those of the original membranes, was reformed on the cytoplasmic surface of the vesicles. The filamentous components, with a uniform thickness of 9 nm, took a tortuous course and joined one another often in an end-to-end fashion to form a irregular but continuous meshwork parallel to the membrane. Purified spectrin was also reassociated with the vesicles in a population density of filamentous components almost comparable to that of the crude spectrin-reassociated vesicles. However, the meshwork formation was much smaller in extent, showing many independent filamentous components closely applied to the vesicle surface. When muscle G-actin was added to the crude spectrin- or purified spectrin- reassociated vesicles under conditions which favor actin polymerization, actin filaments were seen to attach to the vesicles through the filamentous components. Two modes of association of actin filaments with the membrane were seen: end-to-membrane and side-to- membrane associations. In the end-to-membrane association, each actin filament was bound with several filamentous components exhibiting a spiderlike configuration, which was considered to be the unit of the filamentous meshwork of the original erythrocyte membrane.

scholarly journals Ultrastructure of unit fragments of the skeleton of the human erythrocyte membrane.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 810-821 ◽  
Author(s):  
B W Shen ◽  
R Josephs ◽  
T L Steck
Keyword(s):  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Gel Filtration ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Rabbit Muscle ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane

We have examined fragments of the filamentous network underlying the human erythrocyte membrane by high-resolution electron microscopy. Networks were released from ghosts by extraction with Triton X-100, freed of extraneous proteins in 1.5 M NaCl, and collected by centrifugation onto a sucrose cushion. These preparations contained primarily protein bands 1 + 2 (spectrin), band 4.1 and band 5 (actin). The networks were partially disassembled by incubation at 37 degrees C in 2 mM NaPi (pH 7), which caused the preferential dissociation of spectrin tetramers to dimers. The fragments so generated were fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and visualized by negative staining with uranyl acetate on fenestrated carbon films. Unit complexes, which sedimented at approximately 40S, contained linear filaments approximately 7-8 nm diam from which several slender and convoluted filaments projected. The linear filaments had a mean length of 52 +/- 17 nm and a serrated profile reminiscent of F-actin. They could be decorated in an arrowhead pattern with S1 fragments of muscle heavy meromyosin which, incidentally, displaced the convoluted filaments. Furthermore, the linear filaments nucleated the polymerization of rabbit muscle G-actin, predominantly but not exclusively from the fast-growing ends. On this basis, we have identified the linear filaments as F-actin; we infer that the convoluted filaments are spectrin. Spectrin molecules were usually attached to actin filaments in clusters that showed a preference for the ends of the F-actin. We also observed free globules up to 15 nm diam, usually associated with three spectrin molecules, which also nucleated actin polymerization; these may be simple junctional complexes of spectrin, actin, and band 4.1. In larger ensembles, spectrin tetramers linked actin filaments and/or globules into irregular arrays. Intact networks were an elaboration of the basic pattern manifested by the fragments. Thus, we have provided ultrastructural evidence that the submembrane skeleton is organized, as widely inferred from less direct information, into short actin filaments linked by multiple tetramers of spectrin clustered at sites of association with band 4.1.

scholarly journals Cytoskeletal network underlying the human erythrocyte membrane. Thin-section electron microscopy.

1980 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Tsukita ◽  
S Tsukita ◽  
H Ishikawa
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Cytoskeletal Network ◽  
Thin Section Electron Microscopy ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Section Electron

A filamentous network underlying the human erythrocyte membranes can be clearly visualized in situ by electron microscopy of thin sections of specimens fixed with tannic acid-glutaraldehyde. The network is composed of two layers: the first, a layer of vertical components with granular appearance, which are seen to be directly associated with the membrane proper, and the second, a horizontally disposed, anastomosing meshwork of filamentous components, approximately 9 nm in thickness, which are attached to the vertical components. The diameter and appearance of the filamentous components are similar to those of purified spectrin. EDTA treatment (0.1 mM, pH 8.0), which was used to extract spectrin and actin, resulted in the disappearance of the filamentous meshwork, leaving only the granular components.

scholarly journals Are polyphosphoinositides associated with glycophorin in human erythrocyte membranes?

1979 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
S D Shukla ◽  
R Coleman ◽  
J B Finean ◽  
R H Michell
Keyword(s):  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Partition Method ◽  
Triton X

Glycophorin prepared by a lithium di-iodosalicylate-extraction/phenol-partition method was rich in polyphosphoinositides (phosphatidyl-myo-inositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidyl-myo-inositol 4,5-bisphosphate), but glycophorin extracted by Triton X-100 showed no such enrichment. The enrichment observed in the former preparations appeared not to be caused by pre-existing association between glycophorin and polyphosphoinositides in the human erythrocyte membrane, but to be largely a consequence of the preparative procedures.

scholarly journals Ultrastructure of the intact skeleton of the human erythrocyte membrane.

1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
B W Shen ◽  
R Josephs ◽  
T L Steck
Keyword(s):  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Band 3 ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Accessory Proteins ◽  
Red Cell Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Low Ionic Strength ◽  
Triton X

Filamentous skeletons were liberated from isolated human erythrocyte membranes in Triton X-100, spread on fenestrated carbon films, negatively stained, and viewed intact and unfixed in the transmission electron microscope. Two forms of the skeleton were examined: (a) basic skeletons, stripped of accessory proteins with 1.5 M NaCl so that they contain predominantly polypeptide bands 1, 2, 4.1, and 5; and (b) unstripped skeletons, which also bore accessory proteins such as ankyrin and band 3 and small plaques of residual lipid. Freshly prepared skeletons were highly condensed. Incubation at low ionic strength and in the presence of dithiothreitol for an hour or more caused an expansion of the skeletons, which greatly increased the visibility of their elements. The expansion may reflect the opening of spectrin from a compact to an elongated disposition. Expanded skeletons appeared to be organized as networks of short actin filaments joined by multiple (5-8) spectrin tetramers. In unstripped preparations, globular masses were observed near the centers of the spectrin filaments, probably corresponding to complexes of ankyrin with band 3 oligomers. Some of these globules linked pairs of spectrin filaments. Skeletons prepared with a minimum of perturbation had thickened actin protofilaments, presumably reflecting the presence of accessory proteins. The length of these actin filaments was highly uniform, averaging 33 +/- 5 nm. This is the length of nonmuscle tropomyosin. Since there is almost enough tropomyosin present to saturate the F-actin, our data support the hypothesis that tropomyosin may determine the length of actin protofilaments in the red cell membrane.

scholarly journals Membrane glycopeptides from old and young human erythrocytes (Short Communication)

1974 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesare Balduini ◽  
Carlo Luigi Balduini ◽  
Edoardo Ascari
Keyword(s):  
Sialic Acid ◽  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Main Peak ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Papain Digestion

Glycopeptides were extracted by papain digestion from old and young human erythrocyte membranes and fractionated on DEAE-Sephadex A-25. Chemical characterization of the unfractionated samples and of the main peak eluted from the column indicates that glycoproteins of the erythrocyte membrane undergo significant decreases in sialic acid and galactosamine content with aging.

Coisolation of glycophorin A and polyphosphoinositides from human erythrocyte membranes

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 349-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Thomas Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Lipid Composition ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Glycophorin A ◽  
Firm Conclusion ◽  
Membrane Phospholipids ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Significant Enrichment

The lipid composition of purified erythrocyte membrane glycophorin was measured. Diphosphoinositide, triphosphoinositide, and phosphatidylserine are the major phospholipids in glycophorin preparations. Nearly all of the radioactive diphosphoinositide and triphosphoinositide extracted from erythrocyte membranes by lithium diiodosalicylate are recovered in purified glycophorin. There appeared to be no significant enrichment of other acidic membrane phospholipids in the protein. The results do not permit a firm conclusion as to whether the polyphosphoinositides are associated specifically with the membrane protein or whether fortuitous binding has occurred during purification.

scholarly journals Purification of the NF2 Tumor Suppressor Protein from Human Erythrocytes

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitesh K. Jindal ◽  
Kazumi Yoshinaga ◽  
Pil-Soo Seo ◽  
Mohini Lutchman ◽  
Patrick A. Dion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Tumor Suppressor ◽  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Tumor Suppressor Protein ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Protein 4.1 ◽  
Erythrocyte Plasma Membrane ◽  
Inside Out

Background:Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is an autosomal dominant disease predisposing individuals to the risk of developing tumors of cranial and spinal nerves. The NF2 tumor suppressor protein, known as Merlin/Schwanomin, is a member of the protein 4.1 superfamily that function as links between the cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane.Methods:Upon selective extraction of membrane-associated proteins from erythrocyte plasma membrane (ghosts) using low ionic strength solution, the bulk of NF2 protein remains associated with the spectrin-actin depleted inside-out-vesicles. Western blot analysis showed a ~70 kDa polypeptide in the erythrocyte plasma membrane. Furthermore, quantitative removal of NF2 protein from the inside-out-vesicles was achieved using 1.0 M potassium iodide, a treatment known to remove tightly-bound peripheral membrane proteins.Results:These results suggest a novel mode of NF2 protein association with the erythrocyte membrane that is distinct from the known membrane interactions of protein 4.1. Based on these biochemical properties, several purification strategies were devised to isolate native NF2 protein from human erythrocyte ghosts. Using purified and recombinant NF2 protein as internal standards, we quantified approximately ~41-65,000 molecules of NF2 protein per erythrocyte.Conclusion:We provide evidence for the presence of NF2 protein in the human erythrocyte membrane. The identification of NF2 protein in the human erythrocyte membrane will make it feasible to discover novel interactions of NF2 protein utilizing powerful techniques of erythrocyte biochemistry and genetics in mammalian cells.

Proteins of Marsupial Erythrocyte Membranes

1985 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Ralston
Keyword(s):  
Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Human Erythrocyte ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Erythrocyte Membranes ◽  
Blue Staining ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Coomassie Blue Staining ◽  
Red Kangaroo ◽  
Western Grey Kangaroo

The proteins of erythrocyte membranes from the red kangaroo, western grey kangaroo, eastern grey wallaroo (euro), red-necked wallaby, Tammar wallaby, and brush-tail possum have been fractionated on acrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The pattern of proteins was remarkably similar between the different marsupial species. The pattern of Coomassie blue-staining proteins in the membranes of these species was also very similar to that of the human erythrocyte membrane. However, the glycoproteins in the marsupial erythrocyte membranes were markedly less conspicuous than those of the human erythrocyte membrane. Furthermore, the mobilities of the glycoproteins from the marsupials were different from those of the human erythrocyte membrane.

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