Structural aspects of the Ca2+-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum

Cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is a complex system of intracellular tubules that, due to their small size and juxtaposition to such electron-dense structures as mitochondria and myofibrils, are often inconspicuous in conventionally prepared electron microscopic material. This study reports a method with which the SR is selectively “stained” which facilitates visualizationwith the transmission electron microscope.

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Anchorfibers and the Topography of Junctional SR

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100080341 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 582-583

Author(s):

James Junker ◽

Joachim R. Sommer

Keyword(s):

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Cardiac Muscle ◽

Single Filament ◽

Relaxation Cycle ◽

10 Nm Filaments ◽

Junctional Sarcoplasmic Reticulum

Junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (JSR) in all its forms (extended JSR, JSR of couplings, corbular SR) in both skeletal and cardiac muscle is always located at the Z - I regions of the sarcomeres. The Z tubule is a tubule of the free SR (non-specialized SR) which is consistently located at the Z lines in cardiac muscle (1). Short connections between JSR and Z lines have been described (2), and bundles of filaments at Z lines have been seen in skeletal (3) and cardiac (4) muscle. In opossum cardiac muscle, we have seen bundles of 10 nm filaments stretching across interfibrillary spaces and adjacent myofibrils with extensions to the plasma- lemma in longitudinal (Fig. 1) and transverse (Fig. 2) sections. Only an occasional single filament is seen elsewhere along a sarcomere. We propose that these filaments represent anchor fibers that maintain the observed invariant topography of the free SR and JSR throughout the contraction-relaxation cycle.

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Ultra-Rapid Freezing of Isolated Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100080316 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 576-577

Author(s):

Joachim R. Sommer ◽

Nancy R. Wallace

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Granular Material ◽

Nuclear Envelope ◽

Intracellular Calcium ◽

Ruthenium Red ◽

Threshold Concentration ◽

Rapid Freezing ◽

Frog Skeletal Muscle ◽

Electrical Isolation

After Howell (1) had shown that ruthenium red treatment of fixed frog skeletal muscle caused collapse of the intermediate cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), forming a pentalaminate structure by obi iterating the SR lumen, we demonstrated that the phenomenon involves the entire SR including the nuclear envelope and that it also occurs after treatment with other cations, including calcium (2,3,4).From these observations we have formulated a hypothesis which states that intracellular calcium taken up by the SR at the end of contraction causes the M rete to collapse at a certain threshold concentration as the first step in a subsequent centrifugal zippering of the free SR toward the junctional SR (JSR). This would cause a) bulk transport of SR contents, such as calcium and granular material (4) into the JSR and, b) electrical isolation of the free SR from the JSR.

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Electron Probe Analysis of Muscle

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100054583 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 398-401

Author(s):

A. V. Somlyo ◽

H. Shuman ◽

A. P. Somlyo

Keyword(s):

Skeletal Muscle ◽

Smooth Muscle ◽

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽

Resting State ◽

Binding Sites ◽

Electron Probe ◽

Frog Skeletal Muscle ◽

Electron Probe Analysis ◽

Probe Analysis

Electron probe analysis of frozen dried cryosections of frog skeletal muscle, rabbit vascular smooth muscle and of isolated, hyperpermeab1 e rabbit cardiac myocytes has been used to determine the composition of the cytoplasm and organelles in the resting state as well as during contraction. The concentration of elements within the organelles reflects the permeabilities of the organelle membranes to the cytoplasmic ions as well as binding sites. The measurements of [Ca] in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and mitochondria at rest and during contraction, have direct bearing on their role as release and/or storage sites for Ca in situ.

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Structural aspects of osmoregulation in porphyra

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100082923 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 412-413

Author(s):

C. Wiencke ◽

A. Lauchli

Keyword(s):

Culture Medium ◽

Point Of View ◽

Chemical Fixation ◽

Cellular Organization ◽

Osmotic Adaptation ◽

Osmotic Balance ◽

Activity Of Enzymes ◽

Osmotic Agents ◽

Vacuolar System ◽

Structural Aspects

Osmoregulatory mechanisms in algae were investigated mainly from a physiological point of view (KAUSS 1977, HELLEBUST 1976). In Porphyra two osmotic agents, i. e. floridoside/isofloridoside (KAUSS 1968) and certain ions, such as K+ and Na+(EPPLEY et al. 1960) are considered for osmotic balance. Accumulations of ions (particularly Na+) in the cytoplasm during osmotic adaptation is improbable, because the activity of enzymes is generally inhibited by high ionic concentrations (FLOWERS et al. 1977).The cellular organization of Porphyra was studied with special emphasis on the development of the vacuolar system under different hyperosmotic conditions. Porphyra was cultivated at various strengths of the culture medium ASP 12 (PROVASOLI 1961) ranging from normal to 6 times concentrated (6x) culture medium. Por electron microscopy freeze fracturing was used (specimens fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde and incubated in 30% glycerol, preparation in a BALZERS BA 360 M apparatus), because chemical fixation gave poor results.

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Molecular Structure of the Outermost Cell Wall Component of Spirillum Serpens

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100079218 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 342-343

Author(s):

Wah Chiu ◽

David Grano

Keyword(s):

Molecular Structure ◽

Cell Wall ◽

Outer Membrane ◽

Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Electron Microscopic Examination ◽

Electron Microscopic ◽

Cell Wall Component ◽

Protein Components ◽

Exposure Technique ◽

Structural Aspects

The periodic structure external to the outer membrane of Spirillum serpens VHA has been isolated by similar procedures to those used by Buckmire and Murray (1). From SDS gel electrophoresis, we have found that the isolated fragments contain several protein components, and that the crystalline structure is composed of a glycoprotein component with a molecular weight of ∽ 140,000 daltons (2). Under an electron microscopic examination, we have visualized the hexagonally-packed glycoprotein subunits, as well as the bilayer profile of the outer membrane. In this paper, we will discuss some structural aspects of the crystalline glycoproteins, based on computer-reconstructed images of the external cell wall fragments.The specimens were prepared for electron microscopy in two ways: negatively stained with 1% PTA, and maintained in a frozen-hydrated state (3). The micrographs were taken with a JEM-100B electron microscope with a field emission gun. The minimum exposure technique was essential for imaging the frozen- hydrated specimens.

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7-beam lattice images of (110) oriented Ge

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100108593 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 290-291

Author(s):

J.R. Parsons ◽

C.W. Hoelke

Keyword(s):

Image Features ◽

Objective Lens ◽

Lattice Plane ◽

Lattice Image ◽

Crystalline Defects ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Lattice Images ◽

Electron Microscopes ◽

Structural Aspects ◽

Beam Lattice

The direct imaging of a crystal lattice has intrigued electron microscopists for many years. What is of interest, of course, is the way in which defects perturb their atomic regularity. There are problems, however, when one wishes to relate aperiodic image features to structural aspects of crystalline defects. If the defect is inclined to the foil plane and if, as is the case with present 100 kV transmission electron microscopes, the objective lens is not perfect, then terminating fringes and fringe bending seen in the image cannot be related in a simple way to lattice plane geometry in the specimen (1).The purpose of the present work was to devise an experimental test which could be used to confirm, or not, the existence of a one-to-one correspondence between lattice image and specimen structure over the desired range of specimen spacings. Through a study of computed images the following test emerged.

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