Morphological Characteristics of Mitochondria and Cultured Cells Made Permeable for Enzyme Studies

Author(s):  
W. A. Shannog ◽  
M. A. Matlib ◽  
J. B. Robinson ◽  
M. Hochli ◽  
P. A. Srere

Toluene has been used to make various cells permeable to exogenous substrates. More recently we have extended the method to heart and liver mitochondria (1,2). We reduced the toluene concentration and included 8.5% polyethylene glycol (PEG) to stabilize these organelles (1).In this study, liver and heart isolated mitochondria and hepatoma type cells (HTC cells) in PEG were treated with either 2% or 0.1% toluene, respectively. The HTC cells were in a solution of 10% PEG, the optimal concentration indicated by biochemical data. The mitochondria were fixed in suspension in 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.3). It was necessary to add 50% gl utaral dehyde to the HTC cells in PEG-buffer to give a final 3% concentration in order to prevent gross morphological degradation determined to be a result of aqueous glutaraldehyde fixation. Following treatment, specimens were post-fixed in 1% OsO4 and prepared for electron microscopy (1,2).

1980 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 675-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Wolosewick

The cytoplasm of cells from a variety of tissues has been viewed in sections (0.25-1 micrometers) devoid of any embedding resin. Glutaraldehyde- and osmium tetroxide-fixed tissues were infiltrated and embedded in a water-miscible wax, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and subsequently sectioned on dry glass or diamond knives. The PEG matrix was removed and the sections were placed on Formvarcarbon-polylysine-coated grids, dehydrated, dried by the critical-point method, and observed in either the high- or low-voltage electron microscope. Stereoscopic views of cells devoid of embedding resin present an image of cell utrastructure unobscured by electron-scattering resins similar to the image of whole, unembedded critical-point-dried or freeze-dried cultured cells observed by transmission electron microscopy. All organelles, including the cytoskeletal structures, are identified and appear not to have been damaged during processing, although membrane components appear somewhat less distinct. The absence of an embedding matrix eliminates the need for additional staining to increase contrast, unlike the situation with specimens embedded in standard electron-scattering resins. The PEG technique thus appears to be a valuable adjunct to conventional methods for ultrastructural analysis.


Author(s):  
Ronald H. Bradley ◽  
R. S. Berk ◽  
L. D. Hazlett

The nude mouse is a hairless mutant (homozygous for the mutation nude, nu/nu), which is born lacking a thymus and possesses a severe defect in cellular immunity. Spontaneous unilateral cataractous lesions were noted (during ocular examination using a stereomicroscope at 40X) in 14 of a series of 60 animals (20%). This transmission and scanning microscopic study characterizes the morphology of this cataract and contrasts these data with normal nude mouse lens.All animals were sacrificed by an ether overdose. Eyes were enucleated and immersed in a mixed fixative (1% osmium tetroxide and 6% glutaraldehyde in Sorenson's phosphate buffer pH 7.4 at 0-4°C) for 3 hours, dehydrated in graded ethanols and embedded in Epon-Araldite for transmission microscopy. Specimens for scanning electron microscopy were fixed similarly, dehydrated in graded ethanols, then to graded changes of Freon 113 and ethanol to 100% Freon 113 and critically point dried in a Bomar critical point dryer using Freon 13 as the transition fluid.


Author(s):  
Frederick A. Murphy ◽  
Alyne K. Harrison ◽  
Sylvia G. Whitfield

The bullet-shaped viruses are currently classified together on the basis of similarities in virion morphology and physical properties. Biologically and ecologically the member viruses are extremely diverse. In searching for further bases for making comparisons of these agents, the nature of host cell infection, both in vivo and in cultured cells, has been explored by thin-section electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
N. Savage ◽  
A. Hackett

A cell line, UC1-B, which was derived from Balb/3T3 cells, maintains the same morphological characteristics of the non-transformed parental culture, and shows no evidence of spontaneous virus production. Survey by electron microscopy shows that the cell line consists of spindle-shaped cells with no unusual features and no endogenous virus particles.UC1-B cells respond to Moloney leukemia virus (MLV) infection by a change in morphology and growth pattern which is typical of cells transformed by sarcoma virus. Electron microscopy shows that the cells are now variable in shape (rounded, rhomboid, and spindle), and each cell type has some microvilli. Virtually all (90%) of the cells show virus particles developing at the cell surface and within the cytoplasm. Maturing viruses, typical of the oncogenic viruses, are found along with atypical tubular forms in the same cell.


Author(s):  
John J. Wolosewick

Classically, the male germinal epithelium is depicted as synchronously developing uninucleate spermatids conjoined by intercellular bridges. Recently, binucleate and multinucleate spermatids from human and mouse testis have been reported. The present paper describes certain developmental events in one type of binucleate spermatid in the seminiferous epithelium of the mouse.Testes of adult mice (ABP Jax) were removed from the animals after cervical dislocation and placed into 2.5% glutaraldehyde/Millonig's phosphate buffer (pH 7.2). Testicular capsules were gently split and separated, exposing the tubules. After 15 minutes the tissue was carefully cut into cubes (approx. 1mm), fixed for an additional 45 minutes and processed for electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
Joseph M. Harb ◽  
James T. Casper ◽  
Vlcki Piaskowski

The application of tissue culture and the newer methodologies of direct cloning and colony formation of human tumor cells in soft agar hold promise as valuable modalities for a variety of diagnostic studies, which include morphological distinction between tumor types by electron microscopy (EM). We present here two cases in which cells in culture expressed distinct morphological features not apparent in the original biopsy specimen. Evaluation of the original biopsies by light and electron microscopy indicated both neoplasms to be undifferentiated sarcomas. Colonies of cells propagated in soft agar displayed features of rhabdomyoblasts in one case, and cultured cells of the second biopsy expressed features of Ewing's sarcoma.


Author(s):  
A. B. Taylor ◽  
G. C. Cole ◽  
M. A. Holcomb ◽  
C. A. Baechler

An aliquot from a continuous fermenter culture of baby hamster kidney cells (BHK-21 Clone PD-4) (Wistar) maintained in Ca free Eagle's Basal Medium containing 2% Kaolin adsorbed fetal calf serum was planted in spinner flasks at 300,000 cells per ml, total volume 600 ml. After equilibration for one day at 35°C to insure that cells were in log phase, the culture was infected with the M-33-AGMK25 BHK-219 strain of rubella at an input multiplicity of about 6 TCID50 per cell. The virus was identified with specific rubella antiserum.Preliminary experiments had shown that such cultures would reach a peak or plateau HA titer of approximately 1:64, 24 hrs after inoculation and would continue to yield virus for 6 to 12 days. One hundred ml aliquot harvests were withdrawn daily and the culture was returned to volume with growth medium and incubation continued. The harvested cells were spun down rapidly at 2500 rpm per 15 mins., fixed in 3.7% gluteraldehyde in Ca free phosphate buffer saline, and post fixed in osmium tetraoxide. After dehydration, the cells were embedded in Epon 812 and cured approximately 20 hrs at 60°C.


Author(s):  
Anne F. Bushnell ◽  
Sarah Webster ◽  
Lynn S. Perlmutter

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an important mechanism in development and in diverse disease states. The morphological characteristics of apoptosis were first identified using the electron microscope. Since then, DNA laddering on agarose gels was found to correlate well with apoptotic cell death in cultured cells of dissimilar origins. Recently numerous DNA nick end labeling methods have been developed in an attempt to visualize, at the light microscopic level, the apoptotic cells responsible for DNA laddering.The present studies were designed to compare various tissue processing techniques and staining methods to assess the occurrence of apoptosis in post mortem tissue from Alzheimer's diseased (AD) and control human brains by DNA nick end labeling methods. Three tissue preparation methods and two commercial DNA nick end labeling kits were evaluated: the Apoptag kit from Oncor and the Biotin-21 dUTP 3' end labeling kit from Clontech. The detection methods of the two kits differed in that the Oncor kit used digoxigenin dUTP and anti-digoxigenin-peroxidase and the Clontech used biotinylated dUTP and avidinperoxidase. Both used 3-3' diaminobenzidine (DAB) for final color development.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Alina E. Kozhukhova ◽  
Stephanus P. du Preez ◽  
Aleksander A. Malakhov ◽  
Dmitri G. Bessarabov

In this study, a Pt/anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) catalyst was prepared by the anodization of an Al alloy (Al6082, 97.5% Al), followed by the incorporation of Pt via an incipient wet impregnation method. Then, the Pt/AAO catalyst was evaluated for autocatalytic hydrogen recombination. The Pt/AAO catalyst’s morphological characteristics were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average Pt particle size was determined to be 3.0 ± 0.6 nm. This Pt/AAO catalyst was tested for the combustion of lean hydrogen (0.5–4 vol% H2 in the air) in a recombiner section testing station. The thermal distribution throughout the catalytic surface was investigated at 3 vol% hydrogen (H2) using an infrared camera. The Al/AAO system had a high thermal conductivity, which prevents the formation of hotspots (areas where localized surface temperature is higher than an average temperature across the entire catalyst surface). In turn, the Pt stability was enhanced during catalytic hydrogen combustion (CHC). A temperature gradient over 70 mm of the Pt/AAO catalyst was 23 °C and 42 °C for catalysts with uniform and nonuniform (worst-case scenario) Pt distributions. The commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+ was used to compare the experimentally observed and numerically simulated thermal distribution of the Pt/AAO catalyst. The effect of the initial H2 volume fraction on the combustion temperature and conversion of H2 was investigated. The activation energy for CHC on the Pt/AAO catalyst was 19.2 kJ/mol. Prolonged CHC was performed to assess the durability (reactive metal stability and catalytic activity) of the Pt/AAO catalyst. A stable combustion temperature of 162.8 ± 8.0 °C was maintained over 530 h of CHC. To confirm that Pt aggregation was avoided, the Pt particle size and distribution were determined by TEM before and after prolonged CHC.


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