bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three-dimensional structure of a membrane-microtubule complex.
Authors: Murray J M
Published: May 2004

The unicellular algae Distigma proteus contain a group of aligned microtubules associated with their cell membrane. The association is maintained in isolated membrane fragments. The membrane-microtubule complex also includes a crystalline array of membrane particles. The major peptide component of this array was identified by labeling whole cells with radioiodine. The entire complex of membrane, particles, and microtubules is sufficiently well ordered to permit reconstruction from electron micrographs by Fourier techniques. A three-dimensional model of the membrane array at a nominal resolution of 2.5 nm has been calculated. Some similarities were apparent between lattice spacings in the membrane array and in microtubules. Analysis of these lattice correlations suggests a way in which the array of membrane particles may serve as scaffolding for microtubule attachment.
Widespread distribution of the major polypeptide component of MAP 1 (microtubule-associated protein 1) in the nervous system.
Authors: Bloom G S , Schoenfeld T A , Vallee R B
Published: May 2004

We prepared a monoclonal antibody to microtubule-associated protein 1 (MAP 1), one of the two major high molecular weight MAP found in microtubules isolated from brain tissue. We found that MAP 1 can be resolved by SDS PAGE into three electrophoretic bands, which we have designated MAP 1A, MAP 1B, and MAP 1C in order of increasing electrophoretic mobility. Our antibody recognized exclusively MAP 1A, the most abundant and largest MAP 1 polypeptide. To determine the distribution of MAP 1A in nervous system tissues and cells, we examined tissue sections from rat brain and spinal cord, as well as primary cultures of newborn rat brain by immunofluorescence microscopy. Anti-MAP 1A stained white matter and gray matter regions, while a polyclonal anti-MAP 2 antibody previously prepared in this laboratory stained only gray matter. This confirmed our earlier biochemical results, which indicated that MAP 1 is more uniformly distributed in brain tissue than MAP 2 (Vallee, R.B., 1982, J. Cell Biol., 92:435-442). To determine the identity of cells and cellular processes immunoreactive with anti-MAP 1A, we examined a variety of brain and spinal cord regions. Fibrous staining of white matter by anti-MAP 1A was generally observed. This was due in part to immunoreactivity of axons, as judged by examination of axonal fiber tracts in the cerebral cortex and of large myelinated axons in the spinal cord and in spinal nerve roots. Cells with the morphology of oligodendrocytes were brightly labeled in white matter. Intense staining of Purkinje cell dendrites in the cerebellar cortex and of the apical dendrites of pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex was observed. By double-labeling with antibodies to MAP 1A and MAP 2, the presence of both MAP in identical dendrites and neuronal perikarya was found. In primary brain cell cultures anti-MAP 2 stained predominantly cells of neuronal morphology. In contrast, anti-MAP 1A stained nearly all cells. Included among these were neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes as determined by double-labeling with anti-MAP 1A in combination with antibody to MAP 2, myelin basic protein or glial fibrillary acidic protein, respectively. These results indicate that in contrast to MAP 2, which is specifically enriched in dendrites and perikarya of neurons, MAP 1A is widely distributed in the nervous system.
Immunocytochemical demonstration of alpha-tubulin modification during axonal maturation in the cerebellar cortex.
Authors: Cumming R , Burgoyne R D , Lytton N A
Published: May 2004

Previous light microscopic immunocytochemical studies using two monoclonal antibodies that recognise alpha-tubulin (YOL/34 and YL1/2) but differ in their isotypic specificity have shown that the unmyelinated parallel fiber axons in the cerebellar cortex are labeled with only one of the antibodies (YOL/34). We now show that at 10 d postnatally the parallel fibers are labeled with both antibodies, and that during development YL1/2 (but not YOL/34) immunoreactivity disappears progressively from parallel fibers in the lower regions of the molecular layer upwards towards the external germinal layer. By approximately 28 d postnatally, the differential staining pattern of parallel fibers by the antibodies is established throughout the molecular layer. The time course, light microscopic, and ultrastructural staining distribution corresponds to a progressive change in alpha-tubulin immunoreactivity as the parallel fibers form synaptic contacts. This modification of alpha-tubulin (which was not observed in Purkinje cell dendrites or Bergmann glia) may be related to the formation of a basic isotype of alpha-tubulin within parallel fiber axons at maturation.
Yeast secretory mutants that block the formation of active cell surface enzymes.
Authors: Ferro-Novick S , Novick P , Field C , Schekman R
Published: May 2004

Yeast cells secrete a variety of glycosylated proteins. At least two of these proteins, invertase and acid phosphatase, fail to be secreted in a new class of mutants that are temperature-sensitive for growth. Unlike the yeast secretory mutants previously described (class A sec mutants; Novick, P., C. Field, and R. Schekman, 1980, Cell., 21:205-420), class B sec mutants (sec 53, sec 59) fail to produce active secretory enzymes at the restrictive temperature (37 degrees C). sec 53 and sec 59 appear to be defective in reactions associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Although protein synthesis continues at a nearly normal rate for 2 h at 37 degrees C, incorporation of [3H]mannose into glycoprotein is reduced. Immunoreactive polypeptide forms of invertase accumulate within the cell which have mobilities on SDS PAGE consistent with incomplete glycosylation: sec 53 produces little or no glycosylated invertase, and sec 59 accumulates forms containing 0-3 of the 9-10 N-linked oligosaccharide chains that are normally added to the protein. In addition to secreted enzymes, maturation of the vacuolar glycoprotein carboxypeptidase Y, incorporation of the plasma membrane sulfate permease activity, and secretion of the major cell wall proteins are blocked at 37 degrees C.
Ultrastructural distribution of nuclear ribonucleoproteins as visualized by immunocytochemistry on thin sections.
Authors: Fakan S , Leser G , Martin T E
Published: May 2004

The ultrastructural distribution of nuclear ribonucleoproteins (RNP) has been investigated by incubation of thin sections of mouse or rat liver, embedded in Lowicryl K4M or prepared by cryoultramicrotomy, with antibodies specific for RNP. The antibodies were localized by means of a protein A-colloidal gold complex. Anti-small nuclear (sn)RNP antibodies, specific for determinants of the nucleoplasmic snRNP species containing U1, U2, U4, U5, and U6 RNAs, were found associated preferentially with perichromatin fibrils, interchromatin granules, and coiled bodies. This indicates an early association of snRNP with structural constituents containing newly synthesized heterogeneous nuclear RNA. It also suggests a possible structural role of some snRNPs in nuclear architecture. Antibodies against the core proteins of heterogeneous nuclear RNP particles associate preferentially with the border regions of condensed chromatin, and in particular with perichromatin fibrils and some perichromatin granules. These results are discussed in view of recent knowledge about the possible role of nucleoplasmic RNP-containing components in the functions of the cell nucleus.
A few axonal proteins distinguish ventral spinal cord neurons from dorsal root ganglion neurons.
Authors: Sonderegger P , Fishman M C , Bokoum M , Bauer H C , Neale E A , Nelson P G
Published: May 2004

A series of proteins putatively involved in the generation of axonal diversity was identified. Neurons from ventral spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia were grown in a compartmented cell-culture system which offers separate access to cell somas and axons. The proteins synthesized in the neuronal cell somas and subsequently transported into the axons were selectively analyzed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The patterns of axonal proteins were substantially less complex than those derived from the proteins of neuronal cell bodies. The structural and functional similarity of axons from different neurons was reflected in a high degree of similarity of the gel pattern of the axonal proteins from sensory ganglia and spinal cord neurons. Each axonal type, however, had several proteins that were markedly less abundant or absent in the other. These neuron-population enriched proteins may be involved in the implementation of neuronal diversity. One of the proteins enriched in dorsal root ganglia axons had previously been found to be expressed with decreased abundance when dorsal root ganglia axons were co-cultured with ventral spinal cord cells under conditions in which synapse formation occurs (P. Sonderegger, M. C. Fishman, M. Bokoum, H. C. Bauer, and P.G. Nelson, 1983, Science [Wash. DC], 221:1294-1297). This protein may be a candidate for a role in growth cone functions, specific for neuronal subsets, such as pathfinding and selective axon fasciculation or the initiation of specific synapses. The methodology presented is thus capable of demonstrating patterns of protein synthesis that distinguish different neuronal subsets. The accessibility of these proteins for structural and functional studies may contribute to the elucidation of neuron-specific functions at the molecular level.
Association of an extracellular protein (chondrocalcin) with the calcification of cartilage in endochondral bone formation.
Authors: Poole A R , Pidoux I , Reiner A , Choi H , Rosenberg L C
Published: May 2004

We examined bovine fetal epiphyseal and growth plate cartilages by immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoelectron microscopy using monospecific antibodies to a newly discovered cartilage-matrix calcium-binding protein that we now call chondrocalcin. Chondrocalcin was evenly distributed at relatively low concentration in resting fetal epiphyseal cartilage. In growth plate cartilage, it was absent from the extracellular matrix in the zone of proliferating chondrocytes but was present in intracellular vacuoles in proliferating, maturing and upper hypertrophic chondrocytes. The protein then disappeared from the lower hypertrophic chondrocytes and appeared in the adjoining extracellular matrix, where it was selectively concentrated in the longitudinal septa in precisely the same location where amorphous mineral was deposited in large amounts as demonstrated by von Kossa staining and electron microscopy. Mineral then spread out from these "nucleation sites" to occupy much of the surrounding matrix. Matrix vesicles were identified in this calcifying matrix but they bore no observable morphological relationship to these major sites of calcification where chondrocalcin was concentrated. Since chondrocalcin is a calcium-binding protein and has a strong affinity for hydroxyapatite, these observations suggest that chondrocalcin may play a fundamental role in the creation of nucleation sites for the calcification of cartilage matrix in endochondral bone formation.
Receptor-mediated biliary transport of immunoglobulin A and asialoglycoprotein: sorting and missorting of ligands revealed by two radiolabeling methods.
Authors: Schiff J M , Fisher M M , Underdown B J
Published: May 2004

In the rat, all receptor-bindable immunoglobulin A (IgA), and 1-4% of injected asialoglycoprotein (ASG), are transported from blood to bile intact. The major fraction of the ASG is degraded in hepatic lysosomes. The study described here was designed to elucidate the sorting that occurs in hepatocytes subsequent to receptor binding of ligands not sharing the same fate. We show that conjugation of protein with the Bolton and Hunter reagent can be used as a probe for the lysosomal pathway, since 50% of the reagent is released into bile after lysosomal degradation of internalized protein. Radiolabeling by iodine monochloride was alternatively used to follow the direct pathways that deliver intact IgA and ASG to bile. After intravenous injection of labeled proteins, first intact ASG and IgA, and then radioactive catabolites from degraded protein, were released into bile. No proteolytic intermediates were detected, and the transport of IgA or ASG directly to bile was not affected by the lysosomal protease inhibitor leupeptin. These observations indicate that divergence of the direct biliary transport pathways from the degradation pathway occurs at a stage preceding delivery to lysosomes, possibly at the cell surface. Competition studies showed that all three pathways (including the biliary transport of intact ASG) are receptor mediated, but even at supersaturating doses the uptake and processing of IgA and ASG occur independently. We propose that IgA and ASG receptors are not frequently in juxtaposition on the plasma membrane, but that ASG, after binding to its receptor, is occasionally missorted into the biliary transport pool.
Submicromolar levels of calcium control the balance of beating between the two flagella in demembranated models of Chlamydomonas.
Authors: Kamiya R , Witman G B
Published: May 2004

When detergent-extracted, demembranated cell models of Chlamydomonas were resuspended in reactivation solutions containing less than 10(-8) M Ca++, many models initially swam in helical paths similar to those of intact cells; others swam in circles against the surface of the slide or coverslip. With increasing time after reactivation, fewer models swam in helices and more swam in circles. This transition from helical to circular swimming was the result of a progressive inactivation of one of the axonemes; in the extreme case, one axoneme was completely inactive whereas the other beat with a normal waveform. At these low Ca++ concentrations, the inactivated axoneme was the trans-axoneme (the one farthest from the eyespot) in 70-100% of the models. At 10(-7) or 10(-6) M Ca++, cell models also proceeded from helical to circular swimming as a result of inactivation of one of the axonemes; however, under these conditions the cis-axoneme was usually the one that was inactivated. At 10(-8) M Ca++, most cells continued helical swimming, indicating that both axonemes were remaining relatively active. The progressive, Ca++-dependent inactivation of the trans- or cis-axoneme was reversed by switching the cell models to higher or lower Ca++ concentrations, respectively. A similar reversible, selective inactivation of the trans-flagellum occurred in intact cells swimming in medium containing 0.5 mM EGTA and no added Ca++. The results show that there are functional differences between the two axonemes of Chlamydomonas. The differential responses of the axonemes to submicromolar concentrations of Ca++ may form the basis for phototactic turning.
Location of actin, myosin, and microtubular structures during directed locomotion of Dictyostelium amebae.
Authors: Rubino S , Fighetti M , Unger E , Cappuccinelli P
Published: May 2004

During their life cycle, amebae of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum aggregate to form multicellular structures in which differentiation takes place. Aggregation depends upon the release of chemotactic signals of 3',5'-cAMP from aggregation centers. In response to the signals, aggregating amebae elongate, actively more toward the attractive source, and may be easily identified from the other cells because of their polarized appearance. To examine the role of cytoskeletal components during ameboid locomotion, immunofluorescence microscopy with antibodies to actin, myosin, and to a microtubule-associated component was used. In addition, rhodamine-labeled phallotoxin was employed. Actin and myosin display a rather uniform distribution in rounded unstretched cells. In polarized locomoting cells, actin fluorescence (due to both labeled phallotoxin and specific antibody) is prevalently concentrated in the anterior pseudopod while myosin fluorescence appears to be excluded from the pseudopod. Similarly, microtubules in locomoting cells are excluded from the leading pseudopod. The cell nucleus is attached to the microtubule network by way of a nucleus-associated organelle serving as a microtubule-organizing center and seems to be maintained in a rather fixed position by the microtubules. These findings, together with available morphological and biochemical evidences, are consistent with a mechanism in which polymerized actin is moved into the pseudopod through its interaction with myosin at the base of the pseudopod. Microtubules, apparently, do not actively participate in movement but seem to behave as anchorage structures for the nucleus and possibly other cytoplasmic organelles.
Control of differentiation in heterokaryons and hybrids involving differentiation-defective myoblast variants.
Authors: Wright W E
Published: May 2004

Clones of differentiation-defective myoblasts were isolated by selecting clones of L6 rat myoblasts that did not form myotubes under differentiation-stimulating conditions. Rat skeletal myosin light chain synthesis was induced in heterokaryons formed by fusing these defective myoblasts to differentiated chick skeletal myocytes. This indicates that the structural gene for this muscle protein was still responsive to chick inducing factors and that the defective myoblasts were not producing large quantities of molecules that dominantly suppressed the expression of differentiated functions. The regulation of the decision to differentiate was then examined in hybrids between differentiation-defective myoblasts and differentiation-competent myoblasts. Staining with antimyosin antibodies showed that the defective myoblasts and homotypic hybrids formed by fusing defective myoblasts to themselves could in fact differentiate, but did so more than a thousand times less frequently than the 64% differentiation achieved by competent L6 myoblasts or homotypic competent X competent L6 hybrids. Heterotypic hybrids between differentiation-defective myoblasts and competent L6 cells exhibited an intermediate behavior of approximately 1% differentiation. A theoretical model for the regulation of the commitment to terminal differentiation is proposed that could explain these results by invoking the need to achieve threshold levels of secondary inducing molecules in response to differentiation-stimulating conditions. This model helps explain many of the stochastic aspects of cell differentiation.
A chemoattractant receptor on macrophages exists in two affinity states regulated by guanine nucleotides.
Authors: Snyderman R , Pike M C , Edge S , Lane B
Published: May 2004

The binding characteristics of the oligopeptide chemoattractant receptor on guinea pig macrophages and macrophage membrane preparations were characterized using detailed binding studies and computer analysis. Viable macrophages bound the radiolabeled chemoattractant N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-[3H]phenylalanine with single dissociation constant (KD) of 18.4 +/- 4.6 nM with 15,300 +/- 1,800 sites per cell. Binding data from membrane preparations indicated the presence of two classes of binding sites with KD of 1.5 +/- 0.4 nM and 25.5 +/- 11.0 nM. Approximately 23% of the receptors were in the high affinity state. In the presence of added guanine nucleotide di- or triphosphates, the high affinity receptors in the membrane preparations were converted to low affinity states with no change in the total receptor number. Nonhydrolyzable derivatives of GTP were most potent in converting the receptor from its high to low affinity state. These data suggest that the affinity state of the oligopeptide chemoattractant receptor in macrophages is regulated by guanine nucleotides and GTPase, implying that the transduction mechanisms of this receptor may be controlled by a guanine nucleotide regulatory unit.
Entry of diphtheria toxin into cells: possible existence of cellular factor(s) for entry of diphtheria toxin into cells was studied in somatic cell hybrids and hybrid toxins.
Authors: Kaneda Y , Uchida T , Mekada E , Nakanishi M , Okada Y
Published: May 2004

Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were found to be very insensitive to diphtheria toxin. We formed 37 hybrids from Ehrlich tumor cells and diphtheria toxin-sensitive human fibroblasts. The effects of diphtheria toxin on protein synthesis in those hybrids were examined. The hybrids were divided into three groups on the basis of toxin sensitivity. Group A hybrids were as sensitive to diphtheria toxin as human fibroblasts, Group C were as resistant as Ehrlich tumor cells, and Group B had intermediate sensitivity. Group A hybrids had diphtheria toxin-binding sites but Group B and C had no detectable binding sites. Elongation factor-2 of all the hybrids was susceptible to ADP-ribosylation by fragment A of diphtheria toxin. Cells of Group A and B became more sensitive to CRM 45 (cross-reacting material 45 of diphtheria toxin) after they were exposed to low pH (pH = 4.5). The resistance of Group C to CRM 45 was not affected by the same treatment. Group A and B hybrids and human fibroblasts had similar sensitivities to a hybrid toxin composed of wheat germ agglutinin and fragment A of diphtheria toxin, but Group C and Ehrlich tumor cells were resistant to this hybrid toxin. All the hybrids and Ehrlich tumor cells were more sensitive to a hybrid toxin composed of wheat germ agglutinin and subunit A of ricin than were human fibroblasts. On subcloning of Group B hybrids, one Group C hybrid was obtained, but no Group A hybrid. These facts suggest that Ehrlich ascites tumor cells differ from human fibroblasts in the expression of a factor(s) that is involved in entry of fragment A of diphtheria toxin into the cytoplasm after the toxin binds to its surface receptors.
Tubulin hooks as probes for microtubule polarity: an analysis of the method and an evaluation of data on microtubule polarity in the mitotic spindle.
Authors: McIntosh J R , Euteneuer U
Published: May 2004

The structural polarity of cellular microtubules can be visualized in situ by lysing cells in special buffers containing tubulin. Under these conditions, the tubulin polymerizes to form curved sheets which attach to the walls of the endogenous microtubules. When such decorated microtubules are cut in cross section and viewed in the electron microscope, they appear to bear hooks curving clockwise or counter-clockwise. The direction of hook curvature is defined by the orientation of the decorated microtubule and thus serves as a probe for microtubule polarity. In this paper we describe a way to analyze the relative frequencies of hooks of different curvatures so as to measure the fidelity of the relation between hook curvature and microtubule polarity. The assumptions of the method are tested and found to be valid to a reasonable accuracy. The correlation between hook curvature and microtubule orientation is shown to be at least 0.98 for the spindles of PtK cells and Haemanthus endosperm at all stages of division and at all places in the spindle. The correlation is shown to be valid for each hook that forms, so the polarity of those microtubules that bear multiple hooks is specified with even better certainty than 0.98. This property of hook decoration is used to reinvestigate the possibility that some of the microtubules of the kinetochore fiber might be oriented with their plus ends distal to the kinetochore (opposite to the direction previously shown to predominate). Close analysis fails to identify such oppositely oriented microtubules. The scoring of tubules bearing multiple hooks also shows that individual interzone fibers at anaphase are constructed from clusters of antiparallel microtubules. The method for estimating the correlation between hook decoration and microtubule polarity is shown to be applicable to many structures and circumstances, but we find that the hook decoration assay for microtubule polarity is not uniformly accurate. We suggest that future studies using hook decorations should employ the method of data analysis presented here to assess the accuracy of the results obtained.
Light-regulated gene expression during maize leaf development.
Authors: Nelson T , Harpster M H , Mayfield S P , Taylor W C
Published: May 2004

We have established schedules of expression during maize leaf development in light and darkness for the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and polypeptides for ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) subunits, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase), and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (LHCP). Levels of mRNAs were measured by hybridization with cloned probes, and proteins were measured by immunodetection on protein gel blots. The initial synthesis in leaves of all four mRNAs follows a light-independent schedule; illumination influences only the level to which each mRNA accumulates. The synthesis of RuBPCase small and large subunits and of PEPCase polypeptides also follows a light-independent schedule which is modified quantitatively by light. However, the accumulation of LHCP polypeptides absolutely requires illumination. The accumulation of each protein closely follows the accumulation of its mRNA during growth in light. Higher ratios of PEPCase and RuBPCase protein to mRNA occur during dark growth.
Sodium butyrate induces histone hyperacetylation and differentiation of murine embryonal carcinoma cells.
Authors: McCue P A , Gubler M L , Sherman M I , Cohen B N
Published: May 2004

Cells from embryonal carcinoma (EC) lines 6050AJ and PCC4.aza 1R differentiate in response to treatment with sodium butyrate as well as retinoic acid (RA) or hexamethylenebisacetamide (HMBA). Murine 6050AJ EC cells exposed to sodium butyrate possess hyperacetylated forms of histones H4 and altered forms of histones H2a and H2b, whereas histones from cells treated with other inducers appear to be unaffected. These results might indicate that the mechanism by which sodium butyrate promotes differentiation of EC cells is different from the ways in which RA and HMBA act. Differentiation-defective PCC4(RA)-1 EC cells fail to respond to RA, presumably because they possess minimal amounts of active binding protein for RA (cRABP). Sodium butyrate treatment of these cells results in only a modest level of differentiation. On the other hand, exposure to sodium butyrate plus RA leads to extensive differentiation. As is the case with 6050AJ cells, PCC4(RA)-1 cells treated with sodium butyrate also contain hyperacetylated histones. Furthermore, these cells now possess high levels of cRABP. The latter observations suggest that sodium butyrate has the ability to reactivate a silent cRABP gene in PCC4(RA)-1 cells and thereby lead to extensive differentiation via the retinoid pathway when RA is added.
The brush border cytoskeleton is not static: in vivo turnover of proteins.
Authors: Stidwill R P , Wysolmerski T , Burgess D R
Published: May 2004

The shape and stability of intestinal epithelial cell microvilli are maintained by a cytoskeletal core composed of a bundle of actin filaments with several associated proteins. The core filaments are intimately associated with the overlying plasma membrane, in which there occur rapid turnover of proteins and constant incorporation of new membrane. Previous work has shown that starvation or inhibition of protein synthesis results in modulation of microvillar length, which indicates that there may be cytoskeletal protein turnover. We demonstrate herein, by means of in vivo pulse labeling with radioactive amino acids, that turnover of brush border cytoskeletal proteins occurs in mature absorptive cells. Turnover of cytoskeletal proteins appears to be quite slow relative to membrane protein turnover, which suggests that the turnover of these two microvillar compartments is not coupled. We thus conclude that cytoskeletal protein turnover may be a factor used to maintain normal length and stability of microvilli and that the cytoskeleton cannot be considered a static structure.
Bud formation by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is directly dependent on "start".
Authors: Singer R A , Bedard D P , Johnston G C
Published: May 2004

Cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which bear a cdc4 gene mutation, arrest early in the cell cycle but continue to produce buds in a periodic fashion. We show here that this periodic bud formation by cells already arrested at the CDC4 step is inhibited if the cell cycle regulatory step "start" is also specifically blocked by mutation or by the presence of the yeast mating pheromone alpha-factor. Thus, the characteristic periodic bud formation by cdc4 mutant cells requires the continued ability to perform start. This finding raises questions concerning the nature of start; these issues are discussed.
Are annulate lamellae in the Drosophila embryo the result of overproduction of nuclear pore components?
Authors: Stafstrom J P , Staehelin L A
Published: May 2004

Annulate lamellae are cytoplasmic organelles composed of stacked sheets of membrane containing pores that are structurally indistinguishable from nuclear pores. The functions of annulate lamellae are not well understood. Although they may be found in virtually any eucaryotic cell, they occur most commonly in transformed and embryonic tissues. In Drosophila, annulate lamellae are found in the syncytial blastoderm embryo as it is cleaved to form the cellular blastoderm. The cytological events of the cellularization process are well documented, and may be used as temporal landmarks when studying changes in annulate lamellae. By using morphometric techniques to analyze electron micrographs of embryos, we are able to calculate the number of pores per nucleus in nuclear envelopes and annulate lamellae during progressive stages of cellularization. We find that annulate lamellae pores remain at a low level while nuclear envelopes are expanding and acquiring pores in early interphase. Once nuclear envelopes are saturated with pores, however, the number of annulate lamellae pores increases more than 10-fold in 9 min. Over the next 30 min it gradually declines to the initial low level. On the basis of these results, we propose (a) that pore synthesis and assembly continues after nuclear envelopes have been saturated with pores; (b) that these supernumerary pores accumulate transiently in cytoplasmic annulate lamellae; and (c) that because these pores are not needed by the embryo they are subsequently degraded.
Interaction between major histocompatibility complex antigens and epidermal growth factor receptors on human cells.
Authors: Schreiber A B , Schlessinger J , Edidin M
Published: May 2004

It has been suggested that products of the major histocompatibility complex, the MHC, of vertebrates function in many processes of recognition and ligand binding at the cell surface. Here we show that binding of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against human MHC antigens, HLA, reduced the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its membrane receptors on A-431 tumor cells and on normal human fibroblasts. Binding of EGF at 37 degrees C similarly inhibited the binding of Fab fragments and intact Ig anti-HLA to human cells. The inhibitory effect of anti-HLA antibodies was rapid and dependent upon temperature and antibody concentration and valence. Fluorescence microscopy qualitatively confirmed the binding data and showed that MHC antigens and EGF-receptors do not co-cluster in the membrane.
Redistribution of alpha-granules and their contents in thrombin-stimulated platelets.
Authors: Stenberg P E , Shuman M A , Levine S P , Bainton D F
Published: May 2004

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.
Neurite outgrowth of neuroblastoma cells: dependence on adhesion surface--cell surface interactions.
Authors: Rauvala H
Published: May 2004

Neurite outgrowth of C 1300 neuroblastoma cells, which were dispersed from adherent cultures or grown in suspension, was studied on different protein-coated surfaces. Of 29 different surface structures studied, including surfaces treated with various fibronectins, lectins, glycosidases, or glycosyltransferases capable of stimulating fibroblast spreading, only the surfaces coated with plasma fibronectin or with a protein mixture secreted by C6 glioma cells displayed an extensive activity in the sprouting assay. Neurite outgrowth was inhibited by brain gangliosides and by colominic acid (a sialic acid polymer). A 50% inhibition of neurite outgrowth of N18 neuroblasts induced by the glioma cell proteins was observed at the following approximate concentration: 100 microM (0.2 mg/ml) GD1A ganglioside, 20 microM (0.04 mg/ml) GT1B ganglioside, and 5 mg/ml colominic acid. Specificity of inhibition was suggested by the finding that a few polyanionic substances tested were not inhibitory in the sprouting assay, and that the type of gangliosides inhibiting sprouting were found to be major sialoglycolipids of the neuroblasts. A hypothesis is discussed, according to which neurite outgrowth of neuroblasts is stimulated by adhesion involving interactions of the adhesion-mediating protein with cell surface carbohydrates characteristic of brain gangliosides.
To grow mouse mammary epithelial cells in culture.
Authors: Ehmann U K , Peterson W D , Misfeldt D S
Published: May 2004

Normal mouse mammary epithelial cells from Balb/c mice were successfully cultivated on tissue culture plastic with lethally irradiated LA7 feeder cells. The feeder cells also promoted colony formation from single mouse mammary cells, and the fraction of cells that formed colonies was proportional to the density of feeder cells. The mouse mammary cells could be passaged at least 8-12 times as long as new feeder cells were added at each passage. The cells now in culture have doubled in number at least 30 times, but the in vitro lifespan is not yet known. The cultures of mouse cells maintained by this technique never became overgrown with fibroblasts and numerous domes formed in the cultures.
Parameters affecting the fusion of unilamellar phospholipid vesicles with planar bilayer membranes.
Authors: Cohen F S , Akabas M H , Zimmerberg J , Finkelstein A
Published: May 2004

It was previously shown (Cohen, F. S., J. Zimmerberg, and A. Finkelstein, 1980, J. Gen. Physiol., 75:251-270) that multilamellar phospholipid vesicles can fuse with decane-containing phospholipid bilayer membranes. An essential requirement for fusion was an osmotic gradient across the planar membrane, with the vesicle-containing (cis) side hyperosmotic with respect to the opposite (trans) side. We now report that unilamellar vesicles will fuse with "hydrocarbon-free" membranes subject to these same osmotic conditions. Thus the same conditions that apply to fusion of multilamellar vesicles with planar bilayer membranes also apply to fusion of unilamellar vesicles with these membranes, and hydrocarbon is not required for the fusion process. If the vesicles and/or planar membrane contain negatively charged lipids, divalent cation (approximately 15 mM Ca++) is required in the cis compartment (in addition to the osmotic gradient across the membrane) to obtain substantial fusion rates. On the other hand, vesicles made from uncharged lipids readily fuse with planar phosphatidylethanolamine planar membranes in the near absence of divalent cation with just an osmotic gradient. Vesicles fuse much more readily with phosphatidylethanolamine-containing than with phosphatidylcholine-containing planar membranes. Although hydrocarbon (decane) is not required in the planar membrane for fusion, it does affect the rate of fusion and causes the fusion process to be dependent on stirring in the cis compartment.
Purified plasma membranes inhibit polypeptide growth factor-induced DNA synthesis in subconfluent 3T3 cells.
Authors: Vale R D , Peterson S W , Matiuck N V , Fox C F
Published: May 2004

Plasma membranes derived from NR-6 cells, a variant line of Swiss mouse 3T3 cells that does not have cell surface receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGF), inhibited EGF-induced stimulation of DNA synthesis by 50% in serum-starved, subconfluent 3T3 cells. Membranes derived from SV3T3 cells were much less effective in inhibiting EGF-induced DNA synthesis. This inhibition on DNA synthesis by NR-6 membranes was not a direct effect of membranes on EGF, nor could it be overcome by high concentrations of EGF. NR-6 membranes were most effective when added 3 h before EGF addition and had little effect when added 2 h or more after EGF. NR-6 membranes also reduced the stimulation of DNA synthesis induced by platelet-derived growth factor or fibroblast growth factor in serum-starved 3T3 cells. These findings indicate that membrane-membrane interactions between nontransformed cells may diminish their ability to proliferate in response to serum polypeptide growth factors.
Dual regulation of intermediate filament phosphorylation.
Authors: Gilmartin M E , Mitchell J , Vidrich A , Freedberg I M
Published: May 2004

Intermediate filament proteins have been isolated from ME-180, cells of a human cervical carcinoma. Eight of these proteins have been identified as keratins by immunologic cross-reactivity to antibodies raised against authentic human epidermal keratins. The ME-180 keratin proteins consist of two major subunits designated MEK-1 and MEK-2 with approximate molecular weights of 58,000 and 53,000, respectively, and six minor subunits of 59, 57, 52.5, 50.5, 45, and 40 kilodaltons. When ME-180 cells were incubated for 2-24 h in the presence of [32P]orthophosphate, MEK-1 and MEK-2 as well as the 52.5- and 40-kilodalton keratins were phosphorylated at their serine residues. V8 protease digests revealed that phosphorylation of MEK-2 is restricted to one peptide representing approximately half the molecule. Regulation of MEK-1 and MEK-2 phosphorylation has been studied by prelabeling the cells for 2 h in 32P-labeled medium. This was followed by up to 2 h of continued incubation in the same medium after the addition of a variety of perturbing agents. The phosphorylation of MEK-2 increased in the presence of 10(-4) M dibutyryl cyclic AMP (twofold), 1 mM methylisobutylxanthine (2.5-fold), 10(-5) M isoproterenol (fivefold), and 10(-9) M cholera toxin (sevenfold). In contrast, MEK-1 phosphorylation was unaffected by these agents. Neither cyclic GMP, Ca++, hydrocortisone, nor epidermal growth factor had any effect on the phosphorylation of MEK-1 or MEK-2. The results indicate that the phosphorylation of these two keratins is independently controlled by cyclic AMP-dependent kinase for MEK-2 and by cyclic nucleotide-independent kinase for MEK-1. The observed differences in control suggest distinct functions for MEK-1 and MEK-2 within the cytoskeletal network.
10-nm filaments are induced to collapse in living cells microinjected with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against tubulin.
Authors: Blose S H , Meltzer D I , Feramisco J R
Published: May 2004

Cells were microinjected with four mouse monoclonal antibodies that were directed against either alpha- or beta-tubulin subunits, one monoclonal with activity against both subunits, and a guinea pig polyclonal antibody with activity directed against both subunits, to determine the effects on the distribution of cytoplasmic microtubules and 10-nm filaments. The specificities of the antibodies were confirmed by Western blots, solid phase radioimmunoassay, and Western blot analysis of alpha- and beta-tubulin peptide maps. Two monoclonals DM1A and DM3B3, an anti-alpha- and anti-beta-tubulin respectively, and the guinea pig polyclonal anti-alpha/beta-tubulin antibody (GP1T4) caused the 10-nm filaments to collapse into large lateral aggregates collecting in the cell periphery or tight juxtanuclear caps; the other monoclonal antibodies had no effect when microinjected into cells. The filament collapsing was observed to be complete at 1.5-2 h after injection. During the first 30 min after injection a few cytoplasmic microtubules near the cell periphery could be observed by fluorescence microscopy. This observation was confirmed by electron microscopy, which also demonstrated assembled microtubules in the juxtanuclear region. By 1.5 h, when most of the 10-nm filaments were collapsed, the complete cytoplasmic array of microtubules was observed. Cells injected in prophase were able to assemble a mitotic spindle, suggesting that the antibody did not block microtubule assembly. Metabolic labeling with [35S]methionine of microinjected cells revealed that total protein synthesis was the same as that observed in uninjected cells. This indicated that the microinjected antibody apparently did not produce deleterious effects on cellular metabolism. These results suggest that through a direct interaction of antibodies with either alpha- or beta-tubulin subunits, 10-nm filaments were dissociated from their normal distribution. It is possible that the antibodies disrupted postulated 10-nm filament-microtubule interactions.
Receptor-mediated endocytosis in rat liver: purification and enzymic characterization of low density organelles involved in uptake of galactose-exposing proteins.
Authors: Quintart J , Courtoy P J , Baudhuin P
Published: May 2004

Rat liver organelles involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis were labeled with a conjugate of galactosylated BSA to horseradish peroxidase [( 3H]galBSA-HRP), injected 10 min before sacrifice. These organelles were recovered at low density (1.11-1.13 g/ml) in sucrose gradients (Quintart, J., P. J. Courtoy, J. N. Limet, and P. Baudhuin, 1983, Eur. J. Biochem., 131:105-112). Upon incubation of such low density fractions in 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and H2O2 and equilibration in a second sucrose gradient, galBSA-HRP-containing particles selectively shifted towards heavier densities (Courtoy, P. J., J. Quintart, and P. Baudhuin, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 98:870-876, companion paper), resulting in up to 250-to 300-fold purification with respect to the homogenate. The most purified preparations, wherein DAB-stained structures represented approximately 85% of the total volume of particles, contained only trace activities of enzymes usually regarded as markers for other subcellular entities. These minor activities could reflect either contamination or true enzyme association to the ligand-containing structures. Considering the latter hypothesis, at most 1.0% of alkaline phosphodiesterase I and 2.6% of 5'-nucleotidase (markers for plasma membrane), 3.6% of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (lysosomes), and 6.0% of galactosyltransferase (Golgi complex) from the homogenate would be associated with the whole population of ligand-containing organelles. After DAB cytochemistry on liver fixed 10 min after galBSA-HRP injection, ligand-containing structures accounted for 0.78-0.89% of the fractional volume of the hepatocytes and displayed a membrane area of 2,100 cm2/cm3, compared with 6,700 cm2/cm3 for the pericellular membrane. Altogether, our data support the hypothesis that these ligand-containing organelles are structurally distinct from plasma membrane, lysosomes, and Golgi complex.
pH homeostasis in human lymphocytes: modulation by ions and mitogen.
Authors: Deutsch C , Taylor J S , Price M
Published: May 2004

Quiescent human peripheral blood lymphocytes have been shown to maintain a relatively constant intracellular pH of 7.0-7.2 over an extracellular pH range of 6.9-7.4. Two methods of measuring intracellular pH were used in these studies, 19F nuclear magnetic resonance and [14C]5,5-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4-dione (DMO) equilibrium distributions. When ATP levels were decreased in these cells, actively maintained pH regulation was abolished and cells exhibited a constant pH gradient of 0.2 pH unit (acid inside relative to outside). Possible mechanisms for pH regulation are discussed. The effects of the Na+ and K+ composition of the medium on pH regulation showed no correlation with their effects on mitogen-induced proliferative response, which we have previously determined (Deutsch, C., and M. Price, 1982, J. Cell. Physiol., 111:73-79). In low-Na+ mannitol medium, pH regulation was similar to that observed for lymphocytes in normal medium, whereas mitogen-induced proliferation was severely inhibited in low-Na+ mannitol. In contrast, high-K+, low Na+ medium caused loss of pH homeostasis, whereas it restored the proliferative response. Loss of pH homeostasis was also observed on prolonged exposure of lymphocytes to mitogen (greater than 6 h in culture). However, mitogen stimulation led to little or no change in intracellular pH in the first few hours of cell culture. Therefore, a shift in intracellular pH is not a necessary or general event in mitogen-stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes.
Structural rearrangements of tubulin and actin during the cell cycle of the yeast Saccharomyces.
Authors: Kilmartin J V , Adams A E
Published: May 2004

The distribution of actin and tubulin during the cell cycle of the budding yeast Saccharomyces was mapped by immunofluorescence using fixed cells from which the walls had been removed by digestion. The intranuclear mitotic spindle was shown clearly by staining with a monoclonal antitubulin; the presence of extensive bundles of cytoplasmic microtubules is reported. In cells containing short spindles still entirely within the mother cells, one of the bundles of cytoplasmic microtubules nearly always extended to (or into) the bud. Two independent reagents (anti-yeast actin and fluorescent phalloidin) revealed an unusual distribution of actin: it was present as a set of cortical dots or patches and also as distinct fibers that were presumably bundles of actin filaments. Double labeling showed that at no stage in the cell cycle do the distributions of actin and tubulin coincide for any significant length, and, in particular, that the mitotic spindle did not stain detectably for actin. However, both microtubule and actin staining patterns change in a characteristic way during the cell cycle. In particular, the actin dots clustered in rings about the bases of very small buds and at the sites on unbudded cells at which bud emergence was apparently imminent. Later in the budding cycle, the actin dots were present largely in the buds and, in many strains, primarily at the tips of these buds. At about the time of cytokinesis the actin dots clustered in the neck region between the separating cells. These aspects of actin distribution suggest that it may have a role in the localized deposition of new cell wall material.