Iron storage sites in the myocardium as revealed by cytohistochemistry

Author(s):  
M. Ashraf ◽  
F. Thompson ◽  
S. Miki ◽  
P. Srivastava

Iron is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic injury. However, the sources of intracellular iron in myocytes are not yet defined. In this study we have attempted to localize iron at various cellular sites of the cardiac tissue with the ferrocyanide technique.Rat hearts were excised under ether anesthesia. They were fixed with coronary perfusion with 3% buffered glutaraldehyde made in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer pH 7.3. Sections, 60 μm in thickness, were cut on a vibratome and were incubated in the medium containing 500 mg of potassium ferrocyanide in 49.5 ml H2O and 0.5 ml concentrated HC1 for 30 minutes at room temperature. Following rinses in the buffer, tissues were dehydrated in ethanol and embedded in Spurr medium.The examination of thin sections revealed intense staining or reaction product in peroxisomes (Fig. 1).

Author(s):  
J.F. David-Ferreira ◽  
K.L. David-Ferreira ◽  
M.H. Miranda ◽  
J.C. Lemos

The testis interstitial cells of the rat are closely associated forming small aggregates in the vicinity of the vessels. The finality of the present study is to analise the relationship between the interstitial cells and to describe some particularities of their junctions.The observations were made in thin sections from testis of 2 to 3 months old rats fixed by immersion or perfusion with 2 to 3% glutaral- dehyde in s-collidine or cacodylate buffer followed by 2% osmium tetro-xyde in the same buffers. Some specimens have been prepared following the technique of Shea. The thin sections obtained after embedding in Epon were double stained in uranyl acetate and lead citrate. For the cryofracture study the tissues were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in cacodylate buffer, impregnated in 28% glycerol, frozen in Freon 22 and stored in liquid nitrogen. Freeze fracture and platinum-carbon shadowing were done in a Balzers 300.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (3) ◽  
pp. H730-H739 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. D. Segel ◽  
J. M. Minten ◽  
F. K. Schweighardt

We determined the efficacy of a novel fluorochemical emulsion for long-term hypothermic preservation of hearts. Rat hearts were preserved for 12 h at 12 degrees C with use of continuous low-pressure coronary perfusion with one of three oxygenated media (n = 6 hearts/groups): an "extracellular" crystalloid solution; APE-LM, a novel fluorochemical emulsion of perfluoroperhydrophenanthrene in egg yolk phospholipid; and FC-43, the Fluosol-43 (Oxypherol) fluorochemical emulsion of perfluorotributylamine in Pluronic F68. The emulsion media contained the same components as the crystalloid medium. All three media contained 0.5% albumin. An isolated working heart perfusion system was used to quantify the function of preserved hearts and controls (fresh hearts, n = 6). The APE-LM-preserved hearts were not significantly different from control hearts in contractile function, output, and energetics during a 4-h 37 degrees C reperfusion period. The control and APE-LM-preserved hearts had significantly better performance than crystalloid- and FC-43-preserved hearts. All preserved hearts gained fluid during preservation. The edema of APE-LM-preserved hearts, but not that of the other two preserved groups, was reversed during 37 degrees C reperfusion. These data provide the first evidence that a unique fluorochemical emulsion improves long-term preservation of cardiac tissue and produces significantly better recovery of cardiac function after preservation. This salutary effect was specifically associated with APE-LM emulsion and may result from its high O2 capacity, its biologically compatible emulsifier, and its superior physical properties, which include very small emulsion particle size (0.1–0.15 micron), low viscosity, and minimal toxicity.


Author(s):  
A. Singh ◽  
A. Dykeman ◽  
J. Jarrelf ◽  
D. C. Villeneuve

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a persistent and mobile organochlorine pesticide, occurs in environment. HCB has been shown to be present in human follicular fluid. An objective of the present report, which is part of a comprehensive study on reproductive toxicity of HCB, was to determine the cytologic effects of the compound on ovarian follicles in a primate model.Materials and Methods. Eight Cynomolgus monkeys were housed under controlled conditions at Animal facility of Health and Welfare, Ottawa. Animals were orally administered gelatin capsules containing HCB mixed with glucose in daily dosages of 0.0 or 10 mg/kg b.w. for 90 days; the former was the control group. On the menstrual period following completion of dosing, the monkeys underwent an induction cycle of superovulation. At necropsy, one-half of an ovary from each animal was diced into ca. 2- to 3-mm cubed specimens that were fixed by immersion in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer (pH 7.3). Subsequent procedures followed to obtain thin sections that were examined in a Hitachi H-7000 electron microscope have been described earlier.


Author(s):  
M. Kessel ◽  
R. MacColl

The major protein of the blue-green algae is the biliprotein, C-phycocyanin (Amax = 620 nm), which is presumed to exist in the cell in the form of distinct aggregates called phycobilisomes. The self-assembly of C-phycocyanin from monomer to hexamer has been extensively studied, but the proposed next step in the assembly of a phycobilisome, the formation of 19s subunits, is completely unknown. We have used electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation in combination with a method for rapid and gentle extraction of phycocyanin to study its subunit structure and assembly.To establish the existence of phycobilisomes, cells of P. boryanum in the log phase of growth, growing at a light intensity of 200 foot candles, were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer, pH 7.0, for 3 hours at 4°C. The cells were post-fixed in 1% OsO4 in the same buffer overnight. Material was stained for 1 hour in uranyl acetate (1%), dehydrated and embedded in araldite and examined in thin sections.


Author(s):  
Patricia L. Jansma

The presence of the membrane bound vesicles or blebs on the intestinal epithelial cells has been demonstrated in a variety of vertebrates such as chicks, piglets, hamsters, and humans. The only invertebrates shown to have these microvillar blebs are two species of f1ies. While investigating the digestive processes of the freshwater microcrustacean, Daphnia magna, the presence of these microvillar blebs was noticed.Daphnia magna fed in a suspension of axenically grown green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardii for one hour were narcotized with CO2 saturated water. The intestinal tracts were excised in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.2 M cacodyl ate buffer and then placed in fresh 2% glutaraldehyde for one hour. After rinsing in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer, the sample was postfixed in 2% OsO4, dehydrated with a graded ethanol series, infiltrated and embedded with Epon-Araldite. Thin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and Reynolds lead citrate before viewing with the Philips EM 200.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
O Demeulenaere ◽  
P Mateo ◽  
P Sandoval ◽  
O Villemain ◽  
M Tanter ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Bettencourt Foundation Background/Introduction We demonstrated recently that Ultrafast ultrasound Doppler imaging can image the intramyocardial coronary circulation in beating hearts of large animals and patients [1]. Yet, ultrasound spatial resolution remains limited by wave physics and coronaries smaller than ∼100 µm could not be imaged. Ultrasound Localization Microscopy (ULM) [2] was recently introduced to tackle this issue and exploit the micrometric localization of microbubble contrast agents at ultrafast frame rate in order to image blood flows in micrometer vessels. Purpose The objective of this work was to demonstrate that 3D ultrafast ultrasound with contrast agents can provide the full 3D mapping of the coronary microcirculation with quantitative flow velocity on a beating rat heart. Methods Acquisitions were performed on ex vivo rat hearts (n = 5) with retrograde perfusion (Langendorff model). A flow of a Krebs–Henseleit solution mixed with a diluted microbubbles solution (0.22%) was perfused at controlled pressure into the coronary arteries (between 5 and 15 mL/min). We used a 32 × 32 elements, 8-MHz matrix-array ultrasound transducer connected to a 1024-channel programmable ultrasound scanner. An ultrafast Doppler imaging sequence consisting of 9 plane waves was transmitted at a PRF of 20 kHz during 270 ms and repeated 40 times. After beamforming and SVD clutter filtering, the microbubbles were localized and tracked in 3D. Flow velocity were mapped at baseline and after infusion of Adenosine (10e-5 µMol) at constant coronary perfusion pressure (120 mm Hg). Eventually, the hearts were fixed using formaldehyde perfusion and imaged by µCT after injection of radio opaque agent. Results We successfully imaged the coronary blood flows of entire rat hearts. It revealed the entire vasculature from large main coronaries arteries (cross section up to 1 mm) to small arterioles (smaller than 40 µm). Coronary flow velocities ranged from [1 – 50] cm/s depending on the arteries diameter. Velocity estimates were validated in vitro in tubes of Ø0.58mm and were in good agreement with theoretical values of a Poiseuille’s flow (relative ratio of 10% for maximum velocities). After Adenosine infusion, perfusion flow rates increased 102% ± 50% (p < 0.05) on average. Eventually, anatomy revealed by 3D ultrasound coronarography was in accordance with the anatomy revealed by the µCT. Conclusion(s) We demonstrated the feasibility of 3D ultrasound coronarography on isolated beating rat hearts. This technique has the potential to become a novel imaging tool to investigate the coronary micro-circulation and quantify non-invasively the Coronary Flow Reserve (CFR). Abstract Figure. Ultrasound coronarography


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5603
Author(s):  
Greta Ionela Barbulescu ◽  
Florina Maria Bojin ◽  
Valentin Laurentiu Ordodi ◽  
Iacob Daniel Goje ◽  
Taddeus Paul Buica ◽  
...  

Heart transplantation remains the only curative treatment for end-stage heart failure. This life-saving option continues to be limited by the low number of organ donors, graft rejection and adverse effects of immunosuppressants. Engineering bioartificial hearts from acellular native-derived scaffolds and stem cells has gained attention because of its potential to overcome these limitations. In this study, rat hearts (n = 20) were decellularized by means of coronary perfusion with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in a modified Langendorff device. The electrical field behavior of the SDS molecule was studied and it was assumed that when applying an alternating current, the exposure time of the tissue to the detergent might decrease. To repopulate the decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM), human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were used, induced to differentiate into cardiomyocytes (CMs) with 5-azacytidine (5-aza). The results showed no cellular debris and an intact ECM following decellularization. Decellularization in the presence of an electric field proved to be faster, decreasing the potential risk of ECM damage due to the detergent. After cell seeding and culturing of eight scaffolds with hMSCs, the recellularization process was analyzed using optic microscopy (OM), which showed cells suggestive for CMs. This study presents a novel and efficient decellularization protocol using an electric field and suggests that hMSCs can be useful in the generation of a bioartificial heart.


1992 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-655
Author(s):  
C. Schulze ◽  
J.A. Firth

Water and hydrophilic solutes cross the endothelium of continuous capillaries via the paracellular cleft and possibly other routes. This pathway shows a selectivity to molecule size and charge. However, it is not yet known which systems confer this selectivity. Isolated rat hearts were perfusion-fixed through the coronary circulation, stained with lanthanum or tannic acid, and further processed for transmission electron microscopy. Thin sections viewed at × 160,000 magnification revealed regularly spaced, cleft-spanning structures in the wider zone of a small percentage of clefts in addition to at least one zonula occludens. Goniometric tilting of the specimen in steps of 5 degrees perpendicular to the plane of the wide zone showed that such “linkers” can be revealed in at least 40% of all clefts. They become visible at some tilt angles, although the same area of the cleft is featureless at other angles. Single linker spacing measurements were obtained using a computerized image analysis system, and compiled in a frequency distribution chart. On the basis of these data, two models of a regular linker distribution within the cleft are illustrated. Our results provide evidence for the presence of regularly spaced, cleft-spanning structures within the interendothelial cleft which may have implications for endothelial cell-cell adhesion and permeability.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. H2191-H2197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruo Noguchi ◽  
Zengyi Chen ◽  
Stephen P. Bell ◽  
Lori Nyland ◽  
Martin M. LeWinter

The effect of protein kinase C (PKC) activation on cardiac mechanoenergetics is not fully understood. To address this issue, we determined the effects of the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on isolated rat hearts. Hearts were exposed to PMA with or without pretreatment with the PKC inhibitor chelerythrine. Contractile efficiency was assessed as the reciprocal of the slope of the linear myocardial O2consumption (V˙o 2) pressure-volume area (PVA) relation. PMA decreased contractility ( E max; −30 ± 8%; P < 0.05) and increased coronary perfusion pressure (+58 ± 11%; P < 0.01) without altering left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. Concomitantly, PMA decreased PVA-independentV˙o 2 [nonmechanical energy expenditure for excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling and basal metabolism] by 28 ± 8% ( P < 0.05) and markedly increased contractile efficiency (+41 ± 8%; P < 0.05) in a manner independent of the coronary vascular resistance. Basal metabolism was not affected by PMA. Chelerythrine abolished the PMA-induced vasoconstriction, negative inotropy, decreased PVA-independent V˙o 2, and increased contractile efficiency. We conclude that PKC-mediated phosphorylation of regulatory proteins reduces V˙o 2 via effects on both the contractile machinery and the E-C coupling.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document