A Sensitive On-Grid Immunoelectron Microscopic Procedure for Diagnosis of Rotavirus Infection

Author(s):  
M. F. Miller ◽  
A. R. Rubenstein

Studies of rotavirus particles in humans, monkeys and various non-primates with acute gastroenteritis have involved detection of virus in fecal material by electron microscopy. The EM techniques most commonly employed have been the conventional negative staining (Fig. 1) and immune aggregation (Fig. 2) procedures. Both methods are somewhat insensitive and can most reliably be applied to samples containing large quantities of virus either naturaLly or as a result of concentration by ultracentrifugation. The formation of immune complexes by specific antibody in the immune aggregation procedures confirms the rotavirus diagnosis, but the number of particles per given microscope field is effectively reduced by the aggregation process. In the present communication, we describe use of an on-grid immunoelectron microscopic technique in which rotavirus particles are mounted onto microscope grids that were pre-coated with specific antibody. The technique is a modification of a method originalLy introduced by Derrick (1) for studies of plant viruses.

Author(s):  
N.C. Lyon ◽  
W. C. Mueller

Schumacher and Halbsguth first demonstrated ectodesmata as pores or channels in the epidermal cell walls in haustoria of Cuscuta odorata L. by light microscopy in tissues fixed in a sublimate fixative (30% ethyl alcohol, 30 ml:glacial acetic acid, 10 ml: 65% nitric acid, 1 ml: 40% formaldehyde, 5 ml: oxalic acid, 2 g: mecuric chloride to saturation 2-3 g). Other workers have published electron micrographs of structures transversing the outer epidermal cell in thin sections of plant leaves that have been interpreted as ectodesmata. Such structures are evident following treatment with Hg++ or Ag+ salts and are only rarely observed by electron microscopy. If ectodesmata exist without such treatment, and are not artefacts, they would afford natural pathways of entry for applied foliar solutions and plant viruses.


Author(s):  
L. Andrew Staehelin

Freeze-etched membranes usually appear as relatively smooth surfaces covered with numerous small particles and a few small holes (Fig. 1). In 1966 Branton (1“) suggested that these surfaces represent split inner mem¬brane faces and not true external membrane surfaces. His theory has now gained wide acceptance partly due to new information obtained from double replicas of freeze-cleaved specimens (2,3) and from freeze-etch experi¬ments with surface labeled membranes (4). While theses studies have fur¬ther substantiated the basic idea of membrane splitting and have shown clearly which membrane faces are complementary to each other, they have left the question open, why the replicated membrane faces usually exhibit con¬siderably fewer holes than particles. According to Branton's theory the number of holes should on the average equal the number of particles. The absence of these holes can be explained in either of two ways: a) it is possible that no holes are formed during the cleaving process e.g. due to plastic deformation (5); b) holes may arise during the cleaving process but remain undetected because of inadequate replication and microscope techniques.


Author(s):  
K. Pegg-Feige ◽  
F. W. Doane

Immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) applied to rapid virus diagnosis offers a more sensitive detection method than direct electron microscopy (DEM), and can also be used to serotype viruses. One of several IEM techniques is that introduced by Derrick in 1972, in which antiviral antibody is attached to the support film of an EM specimen grid. Originally developed for plant viruses, it has recently been applied to several animal viruses, especially rotaviruses. We have investigated the use of this solid phase IEM technique (SPIEM) in detecting and identifying enteroviruses (in the form of crude cell culture isolates), and have compared it with a modified “SPIEM-SPA” method in which grids are coated with protein A from Staphylococcus aureus prior to exposure to antiserum.


Author(s):  
F.G. Lightfoot ◽  
L.E. Grau ◽  
M.M. Cassidy ◽  
G.R. Tadvalkar ◽  
G.V. Vahouny

Psyllium hydrophillic mucilloid is a natural gelling fiber consumed by a large population of our society. It is used as a bulk-producing laxative and in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders such as “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”. The literature pertaining to the ultrastructural effects of this agent is sparse.This study documents morphological changes induced by psyllium. Animals fed a diet containing 2% psyllium for four weeks were subsequently sacrificed and processed for scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The colon contained fecal material combined with psyllium which conformed to the contour of the luminal surface. This mixture formed surface replicas of the intestinal mucosa. These replicas and their related colonic sites were processed for morphologic analysis.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1922
Author(s):  
Ramila Mammadova ◽  
Immacolata Fiume ◽  
Ramesh Bokka ◽  
Veronika Kralj-Iglič ◽  
Darja Božič ◽  
...  

Plant-derived nanovesicles (NVs) have attracted interest due to their anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidative properties and their efficient uptake by human intestinal epithelial cells. Previously we showed that tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit is one of the interesting plant resources from which NVs can be obtained at a high yield. In the course of the isolation of NVs from different batches of tomatoes, using the established differential ultracentrifugation or size-exclusion chromatography methods, we occasionally observed the co-isolation of viral particles. Density gradient ultracentrifugation (gUC), using sucrose or iodixanol gradient materials, turned out to be efficient in the separation of NVs from the viral particles. We applied cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the morphological assessment and LC–MS/MS-based proteomics for the protein identification of the gradient fractions. Cryo-TEM showed that a low-density gUC fraction was enriched in membrane-enclosed NVs, while the high-density fractions were rich in rod-shaped objects. Mass spectrometry–based proteomic analysis identified capsid proteins of tomato brown rugose fruit virus, tomato mosaic virus and tomato mottle mosaic virus. In another batch of tomatoes, we isolated tomato spotted wilt virus, potato virus Y and southern tomato virus in the vesicle sample. Our results show the frequent co-isolation of plant viruses with NVs and the utility of the combination of cryo-TEM, SEM and proteomics in the detection of possible viral contamination.


1994 ◽  
Vol 80 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Stussi-Garaud ◽  
Anne-Marie Haeberle ◽  
Christophe Ritzenthaler ◽  
Odette Rohfritsch ◽  
Genevieve Lebeurier

1974 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 506-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Simpson ◽  
B. M. Gebhardt ◽  
R. E. Bradley ◽  
R. F. Jackson

The kidneys of seven dogs with natural infections of heartworm disease, four dogs with experimental infections, and six control (uninfected) dogs raised in isolation were examined by light, fluorescent, and electron microscopy. Swelling and fragmentation of the basement membranes accompanied by denudations of endothelial cells and fusion and atrophy of foot processes occurred in the glomeruli of dogs with heartworm disease, but not in control dogs. The severity of tissue damage correlated with the degree of microfilaremia. There was no evidence that the glomerular lesions were caused by immune complexes deposited in the basement membranes; and the alterations of glomerular capillaries were probably caused by motile microfilariae in the capillaries.


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