Cryohomogenization of liver to make in vitro preparations of rough endoplasmic reticulum and other organelles

Author(s):  
A. Kent Christensen

Cell fractionation has been used for many years to isolate organelles for biochemical study. Typically, fresh tissue is homogenized in a suitable buffer, and the various size-classes of organelles are then isolated by differential centrifugation. One of the common fractions is the microsomal fraction, which consists largely of vesiculated rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and of Golgi elements.In the past we have investigated bound polysomes on the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) by electron microscopy, and have used cell fractionation and EM to study the orientation of ribosomes in polysomes bound to rough microsomal vesicles. However, the value of the cell fractionation material in our work has been limited by the small size of the microsomal vesicles, which are produced by vesicular fragmentation of the endoplasmic reticulum during tissue homogenization. For our work we need in vitro preparations in which the RER retains its cisternal form, rather than being fragmented into small vesicles. This report describes a method we have devised that can yield relatively intact RER in vitro.

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1030-1031
Author(s):  
A. Kent Christensen

We have previously described a cryohomogenization method for making in vitropreparations of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and other organelles. The goal of that approach was to minimize the extensive vesicular fragmentation of the endoplasmic reticulum that occurs during homogenization for conventional cell fractionation. The microsome fraction of cell fractionation consists primarily of small vesicles derived from rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and has been of great value in biochemical studies of protein synthesis and secretion. However, the small size of the microsome vesicles has made them less useful for in vitro studies of bound polysomes by electron microscopy. As a further development of our cryohomogenization approach, we here describe a method for removing larger particles and debris from the cryohomogenate by filtration, and the application of in vitro RER and other organelles to EM grid membranes for negative staining and viewing by electron microscopy.


1971 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. L. Ragland ◽  
T. K. Shires ◽  
H. C. Pitot

A system for study and measurement of the attachment in vitro of exogenous polyribosomes to membranes has been presented. Its main features are use of low temperature, post-microsomal supernatant, pyrophosphate and citric acid to remove ribosomes from the surface of rough endoplasmic reticulum, and a method for quantitative separation of unattached from membrane-associated polyribosomes. The following were found. (1) Rough endoplasmic reticulum, from which ribosomes had been removed by treatment with pyrophosphate and citrate, bound over 50% of added polyribosomes, whereas the untreated (or control) rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum treated with pyrophosphate–citrate did not bind polyribosomes. (2) The polyribosome-binding capacity of rough endoplasmic reticulum stripped of its ribosomes decayed upon storage of the membranes at 0–4°C. The half-life of this decay was about 6 days whereas that of the polyribosome-binding capacity of hepatoma stripped rough endoplasmic reticulum was about 1.5 days. (3) Preparations of stripped rough endoplasmic reticulum after reassociation with polyribosomes in vitro were quite similar to preparations of native rough endoplasmic reticulum as viewed with the electron microscope. Evidence is presented to support the contention that association of polyribosomes with membranes was the result of polyribosomal reattachment to the membranes rather than trapping of the polyribosomes between vesicles of the membranes.


1978 ◽  
Vol 174 (3) ◽  
pp. 863-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santhirasegaram Balasubramaniam ◽  
Soundararajan Venkatesan ◽  
Konstantinos A. Mitropoulos ◽  
Timothy J. Peters

To determine the submicrosomal distribution of acyl-CoA–cholesterol acyltransferase and of cholesteryl esters, the microsomal fraction and the digitonin-treated microsomal preparation of rat liver were subjected to analytical centrifugation on sucrose density gradients. With untreated microsomal fractions the distribution profile and the median density of acyl-CoA–cholesterol acyltransferase were very similar to those of RNA. This is in contrast with hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, which are confined to endoplasmic reticulum membranes with low ribosomal coating. In digitonin-treated microsomal preparations activity of acyl-CoA–cholesterol acyltransferase was not detectable. The labelling of untreated microsomal fractions with trace amounts of [14C]cholesterol followed by subfractionation of the labelled microsomal fraction showed that the specific radioactivity of cholesteryl esters obtained in vitro by the various subfractions was similar with all subfractions but different from the specific radioactivity of the 7α-hydroxycholesterol obtained in vitro by the same subfraction. These results demonstrate the existence of two pools of cholesterol confined to membranes from the endoplasmic reticulum, one acting as substrate for cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase and the other acting as substrate for acyl-CoA–cholesterol acyltransferase. The major part of cholesteryl esters present in both untreated and digitonin-treated microsomal fractions was distributed at densities similar to those of membranes from the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and at densities lower than those of smooth membranes from Golgi apparatus. The ratio of the concentrations of non-esterified to esterified cholesterol in the subfractions from both untreated and digitonin-treated microsomal fractions was highest at the maximum distribution of plasma membranes.


1973 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 851-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis S. Rolleston ◽  
Dennis Mak

In vitro the binding of polyribosomes to smooth endoplasmic-reticulum membranes is more sensitive to ionic strength than is the binding to rough endoplasmic-reticulum membranes. Polyribosomes from the free and membrane-bound fractions bind with equal efficiency to endoplasmic-reticulum membranes.


Author(s):  
John J. Wolosewick ◽  
John H. D. Bryan

Early in spermiogenesis the manchette is rapidly assembled in a distal direction from the nuclear-ring-densities. The association of vesicles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) and the manchette microtubules (MTS) has been reported. In the mouse, osmophilic densities at the distal ends of the manchette are the organizing centers (MTOCS), and are associated with the SER. Rapid MT assembly and the lack of rough ER suggests that there is an existing pool of MT protein. Colcemid potentiates the reaction of vinblastine with tubulin and was used in this investigation to detect this protein.


1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 569-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Grab ◽  
S Ito ◽  
U A Kara ◽  
L Rovis

Highly enriched Golgi complex and endoplasmic reticulum fractions were isolated from total microsomes obtained from Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense, and Trypanosoma vivax, and tested for glycosyltransferase activity. Purity of the fractions was assessed by electron microscopy as well as by biochemical analysis. The relative distribution of all the glycosyltransferases was remarkably similar for the three species of African trypanosomes studied. The Golgi complex fraction contained most of the galactosyltransferase activity followed by the smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum fractions. The dolichol-dependent mannosyltransferase activities were highest for the rough endoplasmic reticulum, lower for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and lowest for the Golgi complex. Although the dolichol-independent form of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase was essentially similar in all the fractions, the dolichol-dependent form of this enzyme was much higher in the endoplasmic reticulum fractions than in the Golgi complex fraction. Inhibition of this latter activity in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum fraction by tunicamycin A1 suggests that core glycosylation of the variable surface glycoprotein may occur in this organelle and not in the rough endoplasmic reticulum as previously assumed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (2) ◽  
pp. C308-C316 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Rajasekaran ◽  
S. A. Langhans-Rajasekaran ◽  
R. M. Gould ◽  
E. Rodriguez-Boulan ◽  
T. Morimoto

In this report we demonstrate that the changes in size of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) can be determined by quantifying the membrane-bound ribosomal population separated by cell fractionation and sucrose density gradient analysis. Total cell membranes, rather than microsomes, were used as the source of membrane-bound ribosomes to eliminate potential losses during the preparation of microsomes. Bound ribosomes were assayed after quantitative release and recovery from total cell membranes using puromycin in the presence of high-salt buffer. Using this analysis, we demonstrate a 4.2-fold increase in RER in estrogen-treated male Xenopus laevis liver. Furthermore, we show that the ratio of the distribution of free to membrane-bound ribosomes in a nonsecretory cell line (HeLa) was 3.3, while this ratio in a secretory cell line (AR42J) was 1.2, indicating that cells active in secretion contain more RER. We suggest that this biochemical technique provides a simpler assay to detect changes in the size of the RER.


1984 ◽  
Vol 219 (3) ◽  
pp. 911-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Cascales ◽  
E H Mangiapane ◽  
D N Brindley

The incubation of hepatocytes with 1-4mM-oleate increased the total activity of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase that was measured in the presence of Mg2+ to about 2-fold. This was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of the enzyme that was isolated with the particulate fractions. Conversely, the addition of up to 4mM-oleate decreased the recovery of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase in the cytosolic fraction from about 70% to 3% when hepatocytes were lysed with digitonin. Most of the increase in the membrane-associated phosphohydrolase activity was isolated after cell fractionation in the microsomal fraction that was enriched with the endoplasmic-reticulum marker arylesterase. It is proposed that the translocation of phosphatidate phosphohydrolase facilitates the increased synthesis of triacylglycerols in the liver when it is presented with an increased supply of fatty acids.


1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Whur ◽  
Annette Herscovics ◽  
C. P. Leblond

Rat thyroid lobes incubated with mannose-3H, galactose-3H, or leucine-3H, were studied by radioautography. With leucine-3H and mannose-3H, the grain reaction observed in the light microscope is distributed diffusely over the cells at 5 min, with no reaction over the colloid. Later, the grains are concentrated towards the apex, and colloid reactions begin to appear by 2 hr. With galactose-3H, the reaction at 5 min is again restricted to the cells but it consists of clumped grains next to the nucleus. Soon after, grains are concentrated at the cell apex and colloid reactions appear in some follicles as early as 30 min. Puromycin almost totally inhibits incorporation of leucine-3H and mannose-3H, but has no detectable effect on galactose-3H incorporation during the 1st hr. Quantitation of electron microscope radioautographs shows that mannose-3H label localizes initially in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and by 1–2 hr much of this reaction is transferred to the Golgi apparatus. At 3 hr and subsequently, significant reactions are present over apical vesicles and colloid, while the Golgi reaction declines. Label associated with galactose-3H localizes initially in the Golgi apparatus and rapidly transfers to the apical vesicles, and then to the colloid. These findings indicate that mannose incorporation into thyroglobulin precursors occurs within the rough endoplasmic reticulum; these precursors then migrate to the Golgi apparatus, where galactose incorporation takes place. The glycoprotein thus formed migrates via the apical vesicles to the colloid.


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