scholarly journals Large Plasma Membrane Disruptions Are Rapidly Resealed by Ca2+-dependent Vesicle–Vesicle Fusion Events

1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Terasaki ◽  
Katsuya Miyake ◽  
Paul L. McNeil

A microneedle puncture of the fibroblast or sea urchin egg surface rapidly evokes a localized exocytotic reaction that may be required for the rapid resealing that follows this breach in plasma membrane integrity (Steinhardt, R.A,. G. Bi, and J.M. Alderton. 1994. Science (Wash. DC). 263:390–393). How this exocytotic reaction facilitates the resealing process is unknown. We found that starfish oocytes and sea urchin eggs rapidly reseal much larger disruptions than those produced with a microneedle. When an ∼40 by 10 μm surface patch was torn off, entry of fluorescein stachyose (FS; 1,000 mol wt) or fluorescein dextran (FDx; 10,000 mol wt) from extracellular sea water (SW) was not detected by confocal microscopy. Moreover, only a brief (∼5–10 s) rise in cytosolic Ca2+ was detected at the wound site. Several lines of evidence indicate that intracellular membranes are the primary source of the membrane recruited for this massive resealing event. When we injected FS-containing SW deep into the cells, a vesicle formed immediately, entrapping within its confines most of the FS. DiI staining and EM confirmed that the barrier delimiting injected SW was a membrane bilayer. The threshold for vesicle formation was ∼3 mM Ca2+ (SW is ∼10 mM Ca2+). The capacity of intracellular membranes for sealing off SW was further demonstrated by extruding egg cytoplasm from a micropipet into SW. A boundary immediately formed around such cytoplasm, entrapping FDx or FS dissolved in it. This entrapment did not occur in Ca2+-free SW (CFSW). When egg cytoplasm stratified by centrifugation was exposed to SW, only the yolk platelet–rich domain formed a membrane, suggesting that the yolk platelet is a critical element in this response and that the ER is not required. We propose that plasma membrane disruption evokes Ca2+ regulated vesicle–vesicle (including endocytic compartments but possibly excluding ER) fusion reactions. The function in resealing of this cytoplasmic fusion reaction is to form a replacement bilayer patch. This patch is added to the discontinuous surface bilayer by exocytotic fusion events.

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 966-967
Author(s):  
Amitabha Chakrabarti ◽  
Heide Schatten

Cortical granules are specialized Golgi-derived membrane-bound secretory granules that are located beneath the plasma membrane in unfertilized sea urchin eggs. Upon fertilization cortical granules discharge in a reaction induced by calcium and release their contents between the plasma membrane and a thin vitelline layer that lines the plasma membrane. Microvilli at the plasma membrane elongate incorporting cortical granule membranes during elongation. The vitelline layer elevates and becomes the egg's fertilization coat that hardens and serves as physical block to polyspermy. While we do not understand the precise mechanisms that participate in cortical granule discharge it is believed that actin plays a role in this process. Because actin and calcium metabolism is affected in aging cells we investigated if cortical granule secretion is affected in aging sea urchin eggs.Lytechinus pictus eggs were obtained by intracoelomic injection of 0.5M KCI to release the eggs into sea water at 23°C.


1957 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lord Rothschild

1. The surface of the unfertilized sea urchin egg is folded and the folds are reversibly eliminated by exposing the egg to hypotonic sea water. If the plasma membrane is outside the layer of cortical granules, unfolding may explain why the membrane capacitance per unit area decreases (and does not increase) when a sea urchin egg is put into hypotonic sea water. 2. The degree of surface folding markedly increases after fertilization, which provides an explanation for the increase in membrane capacitance per unit area observed after fertilization. 3. The percentage reduction in membrane folding in fertilized eggs after immersion in hypotonic sea water is probably sufficient to explain the decrease in membrane capacitance per unit area observed in these conditions.


Author(s):  
Barry Bonnell ◽  
Carolyn Larabell ◽  
Douglas Chandler

Eggs of many species including those of echinoderms, amphibians and mammals exhibit an extensive extracellular matrix (ECM) that is important both in the reception of sperm and in providing a block to polyspermy after fertilization.In sea urchin eggs there are two distinctive coats, the vitelline layer which contains glycoprotein sperm receptors and the jelly layer that contains fucose sulfate glycoconjugates which trigger the acrosomal reaction and small peptides which act as chemoattractants for sperm. The vitelline layer (VL), as visualized by quick-freezing, deep-etching, and rotary-shadowing (QFDE-RS), is a fishnet-like structure, anchored to the plasma membrane by short posts. Orbiting above the VL are horizontal filaments which are thought to anchor the thicker jelly layer to the egg. Upon fertilization, the VL elevates and is transformed by cortical granule secretions into the fertilization envelope (FE). The rounded casts of microvilli in the VL are transformed into angular peaks and the envelope becomes coated inside and out with sheets of paracrystalline protein having a quasi-two dimensional crystalline structure.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mello Papa Patricia de ◽  
Carlos Ramires Neto ◽  
Priscilla Nascimento Guasti ◽  
Rosiara Rosaria Dias Maziero ◽  
Yame F R Sancler-Silva ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Dias ◽  
Jesper Nylandsted

AbstractMaintenance of plasma membrane integrity is essential for normal cell viability and function. Thus, robust membrane repair mechanisms have evolved to counteract the eminent threat of a torn plasma membrane. Different repair mechanisms and the bio-physical parameters required for efficient repair are now emerging from different research groups. However, less is known about when these mechanisms come into play. This review focuses on the existence of membrane disruptions and repair mechanisms in both physiological and pathological conditions, and across multiple cell types, albeit to different degrees. Fundamentally, irrespective of the source of membrane disruption, aberrant calcium influx is the common stimulus that activates the membrane repair response. Inadequate repair responses can tip the balance between physiology and pathology, highlighting the significance of plasma membrane integrity. For example, an over-activated repair response can promote cancer invasion, while the inability to efficiently repair membrane can drive neurodegeneration and muscular dystrophies. The interdisciplinary view explored here emphasises the widespread potential of targeting plasma membrane repair mechanisms for therapeutic purposes.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin A. Ammendolia ◽  
William M. Bement ◽  
John H. Brumell

AbstractPlasma membrane integrity is essential for cellular homeostasis. In vivo, cells experience plasma membrane damage from a multitude of stressors in the extra- and intra-cellular environment. To avoid lethal consequences, cells are equipped with repair pathways to restore membrane integrity. Here, we assess plasma membrane damage and repair from a whole-body perspective. We highlight the role of tissue-specific stressors in health and disease and examine membrane repair pathways across diverse cell types. Furthermore, we outline the impact of genetic and environmental factors on plasma membrane integrity and how these contribute to disease pathogenesis in different tissues.


1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 1829-1835 ◽  
Author(s):  
P G Woodman ◽  
J M Edwardson

A cell-free assay has been developed for the delivery of influenza virus neuraminidase to the plasma membrane. Two types of postnuclear supernatant, which acted as donor and acceptor of the enzyme, were prepared from baby hamster kidney cells. Donor preparations were obtained from cells infected with influenza virus and containing neuraminidase en route to the plasma membrane. Acceptor preparations were obtained from cells containing, bound to their plasma membranes, Semliki Forest virus with envelope glycoproteins bearing [3H]N-acetylneuraminic acid. Fusion between vesicles from these two preparations permits access of the enzyme to its substrate, which results in the release of free [3H]N-acetylneuraminic acid. This release was detected through the transfer of radioactivity from a trichloroacetic acid-insoluble to a trichloroacetic acid-soluble fraction. An ATP-dependent component of release was found, which appears to be a consequence of vesicle fusion. This component was enhanced when the donor was prepared from cells in which the enzyme had been concentrated in a compartment between the Golgi complex and the plasma membrane, which indicates that a specific exocytic fusion event has been reconstituted. The extent of fusion is greatly reduced by pre-treatment of donor and acceptor preparations with trypsin, which points to the involvement of proteins in the fusion reaction.


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