scholarly journals Redistribution of alpha-granules and their contents in thrombin-stimulated platelets.

1984 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 748-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
P E Stenberg ◽  
M A Shuman ◽  
S P Levine ◽  
D F Bainton

The redistribution of beta-thromboglobulin (beta TG), platelet Factor 4 (PF4), and fibrinogen from the alpha granules of the platelet after stimulation with thrombin was studied by morphologic and immunocytochemical techniques. The use of tannic acid stain and quick-freeze techniques revealed several thrombin-induced morphologic changes. First, the normally discoid platelet became rounder in form, with filopodia, and the granules clustered in its center. The granules then fused with one another and with elements of the surface-connected canalicular system (SCCS) to form large vacuoles in the center of the cell and near the periphery. Neither these vacuoles nor the alpha granules appeared to fuse with the plasma membrane, but the vacuoles were connected to the extracellular space by wide necks, presumably formed by enlargement of the narrow necks connecting the SCCS to the surface of the unstimulated cell. The presence of fibrinogen, beta TG, and PF4 in corresponding large intracellular vacuoles and along the platelet plasma membrane after thrombin stimulation was demonstrated by immunocytochemical techniques in saponin-permeabilized and nonpermeabilized platelets. Immunocytochemical labeling of the three proteins on frozen thin sections of thrombin-stimulated platelets confirmed these findings and showed that all three proteins reached the plasma membrane by the same pathway. We conclude that thrombin stimulation of platelets causes at least some of the fibrinogen, beta TG, and PF4 stored in their alpha granules to be redistributed to their plasma membranes by way of surface-connected vacuoles formed by fusion of the alpha granules with elements of the SCCS.

1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 880-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
P E Stenberg ◽  
R P McEver ◽  
M A Shuman ◽  
Y V Jacques ◽  
D F Bainton

We have previously characterized a monoclonal antibody, S12, that binds only to activated platelets (McEver, R.P., and M.N. Martin, 1984, J. Biol. Chem., 259:9799-9804). It identifies a platelet membrane protein of Mr 140,000, which we have designated as GMP-140. Using immunocytochemical techniques we have now localized this protein in unstimulated and thrombin-stimulated platelets. Polyclonal antibodies to purified GMP-140 were used to enhance the sensitivity of detection. Nonpermeabilized, unstimulated platelets, incubated with anti-GMP-140 antibodies, and then with IgG-gold probes, showed very little label for GMP-140 along their plasma membranes. In contrast, thrombin-stimulated platelets exhibited at least a 50-fold increase in the amount of label along the plasma membrane. On frozen thin sections of unstimulated platelets we observed immunogold label along the alpha-granule membranes. We also employed the more sensitive technique of permeabilizing with saponin unstimulated platelets in suspension, and then incubating the cells with polyclonal anti-GMP-140 antibodies and Fab-peroxidase conjugate. Alpha-granule membranes showed heavy reaction product, but no other intracellular organelles were specifically labeled. These results demonstrate that GMP-140 is an alpha-granule membrane protein that is expressed on the platelet plasma membrane during degranulation.


1982 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Aggeler ◽  
Z Werb

The initial events during phagocytosis of latex beads by mouse peritoneal macrophages were visualized by high-resolution electron microscopy of platinum replicas of freeze-dried cells and by conventional thin-section electron microscopy of macrophages postfixed with 1% tannic acid. On the external surface of phagocytosing macrophages, all stages of particle uptake were seen, from early attachment to complete engulfment. Wherever the plasma membrane approached the bead surface, there was a 20-nm-wide gap bridged by narrow strands of material 12.4 nm in diameter. These strands were also seen in thin sections and in replicas of critical-point-dried and freeze-fractured macrophages. When cells were broken open and the plasma membrane was viewed from the inside, many nascent phagosomes had relatively smooth cytoplasmic surfaces with few associated cytoskeletal filaments. However, up to one-half of the phagosomes that were still close to the cell surface after a short phagocytic pulse (2-5 min) had large flat or spherical areas of clathrin basketwork on their membranes, and both smooth and clathrin-coated vesicles were seen fusing with or budding off from them. Clathrin-coated pits and vesicles were also abundant elsewhere on the plasma membranes of phagocytosing and control macrophages, but large flat clathrin patches similar to those on nascent phagosomes were observed only on the attached basal plasma membrane surfaces. These resulted suggest that phagocytosis shares features not only with cell attachment and spreading but also with receptor-mediated pinocytosis.


Blood ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
MH Ginsberg ◽  
L Taylor ◽  
RG Painter

We have measured thrombin-induced secretion of platelet factor 4 antigen (PF4) and simultaneously followed its intracellular translocation by immunofluorescence. In permeable resting platelets, speckled intracellular immunofluorescent staining for PF4 was observed. Addition of thrombin to washed platelets at 22 degrees C resulted in secretion of PF4 and formation of large (approximately 0.5 micrometer) immunofluorescent masses. These masses moved to the cell periphery during secretion and were virtually absent at the conclusion of secretion. Ultrastructural examination of thrombin-treated platelets revealed vacuoles corresponding in size, shape, and time of occurrence to the large immunofluorescent masses of PF4. These vacuoles contained PF4 by immunoferritin staining of frozen thin sections; they therefore appear to represent the ultrastructural counterpart of the large PF4 masses. When intact cells were stained for PF4 after thrombin addition, only 5.6% of the large masses stained. Thus, during secretion, PF4 antigen is consolidated into large closed pools that appear as vacuoles in the electron microscope.


1990 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Morimoto ◽  
S Ogihara ◽  
H Takisawa

The ultrastructural changes in electropermeabilized bovine platelets that accompany the Ca2(+)-induced secretion of serotonin were investigated in ultra-thin sections of chemically fixed cells. Such preparations permitted us to study both the localization of and the structures associated with serotonin-containing dense granules. Localization of dense granules within cells was examined by measuring the shortest distances between the granular membranes and the plasma membrane. About 40% of total granules were located close to the plasma membrane at an average distance of 10.8 +/- 1.6 nm. 71% of the total number of granules were localized at a similar average distance of 12.5 +/- 2.7 nm in intact platelets. The percentage of granules apposed to the plasma membrane corresponded closely to the percentage of total serotonin that was maximally secreted after stimulation of the permeabilized (38 +/- 4.9%) and the intact platelets (72 +/- 3.6%). Furthermore, the percentage of granules anchored to the membrane, but not of those in other regions of permeabilized cells, decreased markedly when cells were stimulated for 30 s by extracellularly added Ca2+. The decrease in the numbers of granules in the vicinity of the plasma membrane corresponded to approximately 22% of the total number of dense granules that were used for measurements of the distances between the two membranes and corresponded roughly to the overall decrease (15%) in the average number of the granules per cell. Most dense granules were found to be associated with meshwork structures of microfilaments. Upon secretory stimulation, nonfilamentous, amorphous structures found between the plasma membrane and the apposed granules formed a bridge-like structure that connected both membranes without any obvious accompanying changes in the microfilament structures. These results suggest that the dense granules that are susceptible to secretory stimulation are anchored to the plasma membrane before stimulation, and that the formation of the bridge-like structure may participate in the Ca2(+)-regulated exocytosis.


1990 ◽  
Vol 111 (6) ◽  
pp. 2785-2794 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Brown ◽  
L Hooper ◽  
T Ho ◽  
H Gresham

Phagocytosis by monocytes or neutrophils can be enhanced by interaction with several proteins or synthetic peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence. Recently we showed that an mAb, B6H12, specifically inhibited this enhancement of neutrophil phagocytosis by inhibiting Arg-Gly-Asp binding to the leukocyte response integrin (Gresham, H. D., J. L. Goodwin, P. M. Allen, D. C. Anderson, and E. J. Brown. 1989. J. Cell Biol. 108:1935-1943). Now, we have purified the antigen recognized by B6H12 to homogeneity. Surprisingly, it is a 50-kD molecule that is expressed on the plasma membranes of all hematopoietic cells, including erythrocytes, which express no known integrins. On platelets and placenta, but not on erythrocytes, this protein is associated with an integrin that can be recognized by an anti-beta 3 antibody. In addition, both the anti-beta 3 and several mAbs recognizing the 50-kD protein inhibit Arg-Gly-Asp stimulation of phagocytosis. These data demonstrate an association between integrins and the 50-kD protein on several cell types. For this reason, we call it Integrin-associated Protein (IAP). We hypothesize that IAP may play a role in signal transduction for enhanced phagocytosis by Arg-Gly-Asp ligands.


1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 390-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Zucker-Franklin ◽  
S Petursson

The origin of platelets (Pt) from megakaryocytes (MK) is beyond question, but the mechanism whereby Pts are released from the precursor cell is still debated. A widely-held theory claims that the MK plasma membrane invaginates to form demarcation membranes (DMS), which delineate Pt territories. Accordingly, Pts would be derived mostly from the periphery of the MK, and the MK and Pt plasma membranes would have to be virtually identical. Since, on morphologic grounds, this theory is untenable, several aspects of thrombocytopoiesis were reexamined with the help of membrane tracer and freeze-fracture analyses of freshly-collected human and cultured mouse MK. To our surprise, freeze-cleavage of the MK plasma membrane revealed that the vast majority of intramembranous particles (IMP) remained associated with the protoplasmic leaflet (P face), whereas the partition coefficient of IMPs of the platelet membrane was the reverse. This is the first time that any difference between MK and Pt membranes has been determined. Replicas of freeze-fractured MK that were in the process of thrombocytopoiesis revealed an additional novel phenomenon, i.e., numerous areas of membrane discontinuity that appeared to be related to Pt discharge. When such areas were small, the IMP were lined up along the margin of the crevice. At a later phase, a labyrinth of fenestrations was observed. Thin sections of MK at various stages of differentiation showed that Pt territories were fully demarcated before connections of the DMS with the surface could be found. Therefore, the Pt envelope is probably not derived from invaginations of the MK plasma membrane. When living, MK were incubated with cationic ferritin or peroxidase at 37 degrees C, the tracers entered into the DMS but did not delineate all membranes with which the DMS was in continuity, suggesting the existence of distinctive membrane domains. Interiorization of tracer was not energy-dependent, but arrested at low temperatures. At 4 degrees C the DMS remained empty, unless there was evidence that Pts had been released. In such instances, the tracers outlined infoldings of peripheral cytoplasm that was devoid of organelles. Thus, the majority of Pts seem to originate from the interior of the MK, and the surface membranes of the two cells differ in origin and structure. The observations do not only throw new light on the process of thrombocytopoiesis, but also strengthen the possibility that MKs and Pts may be subject to different stimuli.


1985 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
J. Wolfe

The conjugation junction of Tetrahymena is the specialized site where plasma membrane fusion occurs between two cells of complementary mating types. The junction is constructed through a series of cooperative interactions and morphogenetic steps. A contact-mediated interaction between free-swimming, sexually mature and mating-competent cells of two complementary mating types induces a morphological transformation of the anterior tips. Cells then join in pairs aligned by the apposition of their modified tips. Thin sections show that the plasma membranes of the tips are separated by approximately 500 A of extracellular space, in which some strands of matrix material can be identified. The cytoplasmic face of the membrane is in contact with a junction-specific thick layer of electron-dense material. At hundreds of independent sites in this junction plasma membranes fuse in a limited manner, thereby establishing hundreds of separate membrane-ensheathed cytoplasmic channels that connect the two cells. At the same locations the thick submembrane layer is interrupted. Consequently, the junction appears to be a structure that is perforated with hundreds of pores. This study poses the question of whether the junction's submembrane layer is, or includes, a skeletal element. Cells were extracted with the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 under conditions that yield cytoskeletal frameworks (CFs) that maintain the morphological integrity of the cells. The CFs include chromatin and also cortical structures such as microtubule bands, basal bodies, ciliary axonemes, kinetodesmal fibres and fibrillar epiplasm. CFs of conjugant pairs are also paired, indicating that the junction contains a skeletal element that is responsible for integrating the individual CFs into a higher-order complex. At the ultrastructural level the skeletal structure of the junction includes membrane lamina and a submembrane scaffold, residues of the plasma membrane and thick submembrane layer, respectively, both of which are interrupted at the pores. However, the two separate scaffolds are joined at the rims of the pores. This provides a means by which the separate CFs become integrated. On the basis of images of junctional CFs, which show interruptions of the scaffold without concomitant membrane fusion, but where laminae are pressed close together, a specific model of membrane fusion is proposed. According to this model, the submembrane skeletal scaffold regulates membrane fusion by limiting its occurrence, and the extent of its occurrence.


1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (6) ◽  
pp. C1487-C1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zayna A. Khayat ◽  
Theodoros Tsakiridis ◽  
Atsunori Ueyama ◽  
Romel Somwar ◽  
Yousuke Ebina ◽  
...  

2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) uncouples the mitochondrial oxidative chain from ATP production, preventing oxidative metabolism. The consequent increase in energy demand is, however, contested by cells increasing glucose uptake to produce ATP via glycolysis. In L6 skeletal muscle cells, DNP rapidly doubles glucose transport, reminiscent of the effect of insulin. However, glucose transport stimulation by DNP does not require insulin receptor substrate-1 phosphorylation and is wortmannin insensitive. We report here that, unlike insulin, DNP does not activate phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase B/Akt, or p70 S6 kinase. However, chelation of intra- and extracellular Ca2+ with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid-AM in conjunction with EGTA inhibited DNP-stimulated glucose uptake by 78.9 ± 3.5%. Because Ca2+-sensitive, conventional protein kinase C (cPKC) can activate glucose transport in L6 muscle cells, we examined whether cPKC may be translocated and activated in response to DNP in L6 myotubes. Acute DNP treatment led to translocation of cPKCs to plasma membrane. cPKC immunoprecipitated from plasma membranes exhibited a twofold increase in kinase activity in response to DNP. Overnight treatment with 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate downregulated cPKC isoforms α, β, and γ and partially inhibited (45.0 ± 3.6%) DNP- but not insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Consistent with this, the PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide I blocked PKC enzyme activity at the plasma membrane (100%) and inhibited DNP-stimulated 2-[3H]deoxyglucose uptake (61.2 ± 2.4%) with no effect on the stimulation of glucose transport by insulin. Finally, the selective PKC-β inhibitor LY-379196 partially inhibited DNP effects on glucose uptake (66.7 ± 1.6%). The results suggest interfering with mitochondrial ATP production acts on a signal transduction pathway independent from that of insulin and partly mediated by Ca2+ and cPKCs, of which PKC-β likely plays a significant role.


1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 905-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
T D Pham ◽  
K L Kaplan ◽  
V P Butler

To determine the storage site of platelet fibrinogen and of platelet factor 4 (PF4) in human platelets by immunoelectron microscopic techniques, washed human platelets were briefly exposed to Karnovsky's fixative and embedded in water-soluble Durcupan. Thin sections of platelets were exposed to Fab fragments of rabbit anti-human fibrinogen or of goat anti-human PF4, followed by a peroxidase conjugate of Fab fragments of antibodies to rabbit immunoglobulin (Ig) G or to goat IgG. The technique enabled preservation of the antigenic determinants of the platelet proteins, accessibility of Fab fragments to the platelet proteins, and maintenance of the ultrastructural integrity of the platelets. Using this approach, it was directly demonstrated that platelet fibrinogen and PF4 are stored in the alpha-granules of human platelets.


1977 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
R L Weiss ◽  
D A Goodenough ◽  
U W Goodenough

Fusion of plasma membranes between Chlamydomonas reinhardtii gametes has been studied by freeze-fracture electron microscopy of unfixed cells. The putative site of cell fusion developes during gametic differentiation and is recognized in thin sections of unmated gametes as a plaque of dense material subjacent to a sector of the anterior plasma membrane (Goodenough, U.W., and R.L. Weiss. 1975.J. Cell Biol. 67:623-637). The overlying membrane proves to be readily recognized in replicas of unmated gametes as a circular region roughly 500 nm in diameter which is relatively free of "regular" plasma membrane particles on both the P and E fracture faces. The morphology of this region is different for mating-type plus (mt+) and mt- gametes: the few particles present in the center of the mt+ region are distributed asymmetrically and restricted to the P face, while the few particles present in the center of the mt- region are distributed symmetrically in the E face. Each gamete type can be activated for cell fusion by presenting to it isolated flagella of opposite mt. The activated mt+ gamete generates large expanses of particle-cleared membrane as it forms a long fertilization tubule from the mating structure region. In the activated mt- gamete, the E face of the mating structure region is transformed into a central dome of densely clustered particles surrounded by a particle-cleared zone. When mt+ and mt- gametes are mixed together, flagellar agglutination triggeeeds to fuse with an activated mt- region. The fusion lip is seen to develop within the particle-dense central dome. We conclude that these mt- particles play an active role in membrane fusion.


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