scholarly journals ROLE OF THE GAMETE MEMBRANES IN FERTILIZATION IN SACCOGLOSSUS KOWALEVSKII (ENTEROPNEUSTA)

1963 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Hunter Colwin ◽  
Arthur L. Colwin
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Sperm Nucleus ◽  
Zygote Formation ◽  
General Hypothesis ◽  
Acrosomal Vesicle ◽  
Saccoglossus Kowalevskii ◽  
Sperm Plasma Membrane

An earlier paper showed that in Saccoglossus the acrosomal tubule makes contact with the egg plasma membrane. The present paper includes evidence that the sperm and egg plasma membranes fuse to establish the single continuous zygote membrane which, consequently, is a mosaic. Contrary to the general hypothesis of Tyler, pinocytosis or phagocytosis plays no role in zygote formation. Contact between the gametes is actually between two newly exposed surfaces: in the spermatozoon, the surface was formerly the interior of the acrosomal vesicle; in the egg, it was membrane previously covered by the egg envelopes. The concept that all the events of fertilization are mediated by a fertilizin-antifertilizin reaction seems an oversimplification of events actually observed: rather, the evidence indicates that a series of specific biochemical interactions probably would be involved. Gamete membrane fusion permits sperm periacrosomal material to meet the egg cytoplasm; if an activating substance exists in the spermatozoon it probably is periacrosomal rather than acrosomal in origin. The contents of the acrosome are expended in the process of delivering the sperm plasma membrane to the egg plasma membrane. After these membranes coalesce, the sperm nucleus and other internal sperm structures move into the egg cytoplasm.

scholarly journals ROLE OF THE GAMETE MEMBRANES IN FERTILIZATION IN SACCOGLOSSUS KOWALEVSKII (ENTEROPNEUSTA)

1963 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur L. Colwin ◽  
Laura Hunter Colwin
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Previous Evidence ◽  
Egg Envelope ◽  
Saccoglossus Kowalevskii ◽  
Acrosomal Membrane ◽  
Peripheral Ring ◽  
Sperm Plasma Membrane

Previous electron microscope studies of sperm-egg association in the annelid Hydroides revealed novel aspects with respect to the acrosomal region. To determine whether these aspects were unique, a comparable study was made of a species belonging to a widely separated phylum, Hemichordata. Osmium tetroxide-fixed polyspermic material of the enteropneust, Saccoglossus, was used. The acrosomal region includes the membrane-bounded acrosome, with its large acrosomal granule and shallow adnuclear invagination, and the periacrosomal material which surrounds the acrosome except at the apex; here, the acrosomal membrane lies very close to the enclosing sperm plasma membrane. After reaching the egg envelope, the spermatozoon is activated and undergoes a series of changes: the apex dehisces and around the resulting orifice the acrosomal and sperm plasma membranes form a continuous mosaic membrane. The acrosomal granule disappears. Within 7 seconds the invagination becomes the acrosomal tubule, spans the egg envelopes, and meets the egg plasma membrane. The rest of the acrosomal vesicle everts. The periacrosomal mass changes profoundly: part becomes a fibrous core (possibly equivalent to a perforatorium); part remains as a peripheral ring. The basic pattern of structure and sperm-egg association in Saccoglossus is the same as in Hydroides. Previous evidence from four other phyla as interpreted here also indicates conformity to this pattern. The major role of the acrosome is apparently to deliver the sperm plasma membrane to the egg plasma membrane.

scholarly journals Insulin Stimulates Membrane Fusion and GLUT4 Accumulation in Clathrin Coats on Adipocyte Plasma Membranes

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 3456-3469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaohui Huang ◽  
Larry M. Lifshitz ◽  
Christine Jones ◽  
Karl D. Bellve ◽  
Clive Standley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Insulin Signaling ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Glucose Transporter ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Proteins ◽  
Tirf Microscopy ◽  
Adipocyte Plasma Membranes ◽  
Kinetics Of

ABSTRACT Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy reveals highly mobile structures containing enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) within a zone about 100 nm beneath the plasma membrane of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We developed a computer program (Fusion Assistant) that enables direct analysis of the docking/fusion kinetics of hundreds of exocytic fusion events. Insulin stimulation increases the fusion frequency of exocytic GLUT4 vesicles by ∼4-fold, increasing GLUT4 content in the plasma membrane. Remarkably, insulin signaling modulates the kinetics of the fusion process, decreasing the vesicle tethering/docking duration prior to membrane fusion. In contrast, the kinetics of GLUT4 molecules spreading out in the plasma membrane from exocytic fusion sites is unchanged by insulin. As GLUT4 accumulates in the plasma membrane, it is also immobilized in punctate structures on the cell surface. A previous report suggested these structures are exocytic fusion sites (Lizunov et al., J. Cell Biol. 169:481-489, 2005). However, two-color TIRF microscopy using fluorescent proteins fused to clathrin light chain or GLUT4 reveals these structures are clathrin-coated patches. Taken together, these data show that insulin signaling accelerates the transition from docking of GLUT4-containing vesicles to their fusion with the plasma membrane and promotes GLUT4 accumulation in clathrin-based endocytic structures on the plasma membrane.

Spreading of a sperm surface antigen within the plasma membrane of the egg after fertilization in the rat

Development ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-270
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Gaunt
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Surface Antigen ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Entire Surface ◽  
Sperm Tail ◽  
Sperm Surface ◽  
Sperm Antigens

The rat sperm surface antigen 2D6, located over the entire surface of the spermatozoon, is shown by use of a monoclonal antibody in indirect immunofluorescence experiments to spread laterally over the surface of the egg after fusion of sperm and egg plasma membranes at fertilization. Freshly fertilized eggs, obtained from superovulated rats 14h after hCG injection, showed the 2D6 antigen to have spread in a gradient over a discrete fan-shaped area of the egg surface anterior to the protruding sperm tail. Eggs at a later stage of sperm incorporation, obtained 20 h after hCG injection, snowed that the spread of antigen had extended to cover most or all of their surfaces. By 40 h after hCG injection, the approximate time that fertilized eggs cleaved to form 2-cell embryos, most of the 2D6 antigen had been lost from the cell surface. Fertilized eggs, but not unfertilized eggs or 2-cell embryos, were lysed by 2D6 monoclonal antibody in the presence of guinea pig complement. A model for sperm-egg fusion is presented to account for the observed pattern of spreading shown by the 2D6 antigen. The possible role of sperm antigens on the egg surface is discussed.

scholarly journals Diverse Role of SNARE Protein Sec22 in Vesicle Trafficking, Membrane Fusion, and Autophagy

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Adnan ◽  
Waqar Islam ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Wenhui Zheng ◽  
Guo-Dong Lu
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Protein Secretion ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Extracellular Enzymes ◽  
Vesicle Trafficking ◽  
Cellular Systems ◽  
Rnai Pathway ◽  
Snare Protein ◽  
Genetic Redundancy

Protein synthesis begins at free ribosomes or ribosomes attached with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Newly synthesized proteins are transported to the plasma membrane for secretion through conventional or unconventional pathways. In conventional protein secretion, proteins are transported from the ER lumen to Golgi lumen and through various other compartments to be secreted at the plasma membrane, while unconventional protein secretion bypasses the Golgi apparatus. Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) proteins are involved in cargo vesicle trafficking and membrane fusion. The ER localized vesicle associated SNARE (v-SNARE) protein Sec22 plays a major role during anterograde and retrograde transport by promoting efficient membrane fusion and assisting in the assembly of higher order complexes by homodimer formation. Sec22 is not only confined to ER–Golgi intermediate compartments (ERGIC) but also facilitates formation of contact sites between ER and plasma membranes. Sec22 mutation is responsible for the development of atherosclerosis and symptoms in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and aging in humans. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, Sec22 is essential for photoreceptor morphogenesis, the wingless signaling pathway, and normal ER, Golgi, and endosome morphology. In the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, it is involved in development, and in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, it is in involved in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. In filamentous fungi, it affects cell wall integrity, growth, reproduction, pathogenicity, regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), expression of extracellular enzymes, and transcriptional regulation of many development related genes. This review provides a detailed account of Sec22 function, summarizes its domain structure, discusses its genetic redundancy with Ykt6, discusses what is known about its localization to discrete membranes, its contributions in conventional and unconventional autophagy, and a variety of other roles across different cellular systems ranging from higher to lower eukaryotes, and highlights some of the surprises that have originated from research on Sec22.

Glycolipids as potential binding sites for HIV: topology in the sperm plasma membrane in relation to the regulation of membrane fusion

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 233-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.M Gadella ◽  
D Hammache ◽  
G Piéroni ◽  
B Colenbrander ◽  
L.M.G van Golde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Potential Binding ◽  
Sperm Plasma Membrane

scholarly journals Levels of Human Erythrocyte Membrane-Bound and Cytosolic Glycohydrolases Are Associated with Oxidative Stress in Erectile Dysfunction Patients

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Massaccesi ◽  
G. V. Melzi d’Eril ◽  
G. M. Colpi ◽  
G. Tettamanti ◽  
G. Goi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Erectile Dysfunction ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Lag Time ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Human Erythrocyte Membrane ◽  
Key Enzyme ◽  
Membrane Bound

Oxidative stress (OS) and production of NO, by endothelium nitric oxide synthetase (eNOS), are involved in the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction (ED). Moreover, OS induces modifications of the physicochemical properties of erythrocyte (RBC) plasma membranes and of the enzyme content of the same membranes. Due to their role in signalling early membrane alterations in OS-related pathologies, several plasma membrane and cytosolic glycohydrolases of human RBC have been proposed as new markers of cellular OS. In RBC, NOS can be activated and deactivated by phosphorylation/glycosylation. In this regulatory mechanism O-β-N-AcetylGlucosaminidase is a key enzyme. Cellular levels of O-GlcNAcylated proteins are related to OS; consequently dysfunctional eNOS O-GlcNAcylation seems to have a crucial role in ED. To elucidate the possible association between RBC glycohydrolases and OS, plasma hydroperoxides and antioxidant total defenses (Lag-time), cytosolic O-β-N-AcetylGlucosaminidase, cytosolic and membrane Hexosaminidase, membraneβ-D-Glucuronidase, andα-D-Glucosidase have been studied in 39 ED patients and 30 controls. In ED subjects hydroperoxides and plasma membrane glycohydrolases activities are significantly increased whereas Lag-time values and cytosolic glycohydrolases activities are significantly decreased. These data confirm the strong OS status in ED patients, the role of the studied glycohydrolases as early OS biomarker and suggest their possible use as specific marker of ED patients, particularly in those undergoing nutritional/pharmacological antioxidant therapy.

scholarly journals Sphingomyelin Synthase 2, but Not Sphingomyelin Synthase 1, Is Involved in HIV-1 Envelope-mediated Membrane Fusion

2014 ◽  
Vol 289 (44) ◽  
pp. 30842-30856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuhiro Hayashi ◽  
Yoko Nemoto-Sasaki ◽  
Takashi Tanikawa ◽  
Saori Oka ◽  
Kiyoto Tsuchiya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Viral Envelope ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Nonreceptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Sphingomyelin Synthase ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Hiv 1

Membrane fusion between the viral envelope and plasma membranes of target cells has previously been correlated with HIV-1 infection. Lipids in the plasma membrane, including sphingomyelin, may be crucially involved in HIV-1 infection; however, the role of lipid-metabolic enzymes in membrane fusion remains unclear. In this study, we examined the roles of sphingomyelin synthase (SMS) in HIV-1 Env-mediated membrane fusion using a cell-cell fusion assay with HIV-1 mimetics and their target cells. We employed reconstituted cells as target cells that stably express Sms1 or Sms2 in Sms-deficient cells. Fusion susceptibility was ∼5-fold higher in Sms2-expressing cells (not in Sms1-expressing cells) than in Sms-deficient cells. The enhancement of fusion susceptibility observed in Sms2-expressing cells was reversed and reduced by Sms2 knockdown. We also found that catalytically nonactive Sms2 promoted membrane fusion susceptibility. Moreover, SMS2 co-localized and was constitutively associated with the HIV receptor·co-receptor complex in the plasma membrane. In addition, HIV-1 Env treatment resulted in a transient increase in nonreceptor tyrosine kinase (Pyk2) phosphorylation in Sms2-expressing and catalytically nonactive Sms2-expressing cells. We observed that F-actin polymerization in the region of membrane fusion was more prominent in Sms2-expressing cells than Sms-deficient cells. Taken together, our research provides insight into a novel function of SMS2 which is the regulation of HIV-1 Env-mediated membrane fusion via actin rearrangement.

scholarly journals Cytoskeletal reorganization and plasma membrane fusion in conjugating Tetrahymena

1985 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
J. Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Matrix Material ◽  
Thick Layer ◽  
Skeletal Structure ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Skeletal Element ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Ionic Detergent

The conjugation junction of Tetrahymena is the specialized site where plasma membrane fusion occurs between two cells of complementary mating types. The junction is constructed through a series of cooperative interactions and morphogenetic steps. A contact-mediated interaction between free-swimming, sexually mature and mating-competent cells of two complementary mating types induces a morphological transformation of the anterior tips. Cells then join in pairs aligned by the apposition of their modified tips. Thin sections show that the plasma membranes of the tips are separated by approximately 500 A of extracellular space, in which some strands of matrix material can be identified. The cytoplasmic face of the membrane is in contact with a junction-specific thick layer of electron-dense material. At hundreds of independent sites in this junction plasma membranes fuse in a limited manner, thereby establishing hundreds of separate membrane-ensheathed cytoplasmic channels that connect the two cells. At the same locations the thick submembrane layer is interrupted. Consequently, the junction appears to be a structure that is perforated with hundreds of pores. This study poses the question of whether the junction's submembrane layer is, or includes, a skeletal element. Cells were extracted with the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 under conditions that yield cytoskeletal frameworks (CFs) that maintain the morphological integrity of the cells. The CFs include chromatin and also cortical structures such as microtubule bands, basal bodies, ciliary axonemes, kinetodesmal fibres and fibrillar epiplasm. CFs of conjugant pairs are also paired, indicating that the junction contains a skeletal element that is responsible for integrating the individual CFs into a higher-order complex. At the ultrastructural level the skeletal structure of the junction includes membrane lamina and a submembrane scaffold, residues of the plasma membrane and thick submembrane layer, respectively, both of which are interrupted at the pores. However, the two separate scaffolds are joined at the rims of the pores. This provides a means by which the separate CFs become integrated. On the basis of images of junctional CFs, which show interruptions of the scaffold without concomitant membrane fusion, but where laminae are pressed close together, a specific model of membrane fusion is proposed. According to this model, the submembrane skeletal scaffold regulates membrane fusion by limiting its occurrence, and the extent of its occurrence.

scholarly journals OBSERVATIONS ON SPERM PENETRATION IN THE RAT

1961 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. Szollosi ◽  
Hans Ris
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Previous Night ◽  
Egg Membrane ◽  
Sperm Plasma Membrane ◽  
Sperm Penetration ◽  
Sperm Midpiece ◽  
New Hypothesis ◽  
Structural Aspects

The structural aspects of sperm penetration in the rat egg were investigated by electron microscopy. Eggs were recovered at intervals between 8 and 10:30 A.M. from females which had mated during the previous night. The oviducts were flushed with hyaluronidase and the eggs transferred into a 2 per cent osmium tetroxide solution, buffered at pH 7.8. After fixation, the eggs were mounted individually in agar, dehydrated in ethyl alcohol, and embedded in butyl-methyl methacrylate (3:1). The sperm penetrating the egg is covered by a plasma membrane which is present only on the side facing toward the zona pellucida; no membrane is visible on the side facing toward the vitellus. The sperm plasma membrane becomes continuous with the egg plasma membrane and forms a deep fold around the entering sperm. Cross-sections through the sperm midpiece in the perivitelline space show an intact plasma membrane. At the place of entrance, the plasma membrane of the sperm appears to fuse with the egg plasma membrane. After the sperm has penetrated the vitellus, it has no plasma membrane at all. The nuclear membrane is also absent. These observations suggest a new hypothesis for sperm penetration. After the sperm has come to lie on the plasma membrane of the egg, the egg and sperm plasma membranes rupture and then fuse with one another to form a continuous cell membrane over the egg and the outer surface of the sperm. As a result the sperm comes to lie inside the vitellus, leaving its own plasma membrane incorporated into the egg membrane at the surface of the egg.

scholarly journals Role of the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Protein in the Mechanism of Paramyxovirus-Cell Membrane Fusion

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (24) ◽  
pp. 13028-13033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Takimoto ◽  
Garry L. Taylor ◽  
Helen C. Connaris ◽  
Susan J. Crennell ◽  
Allen Portner
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Hydrophobic Surface ◽  
Cellular Receptor ◽  
Virus Attachment ◽  
Acetylneuraminic Acid ◽  
Specific Manner ◽  
Β Sheet

ABSTRACT Paramyxovirus infects cells by initially attaching to a sialic acid-containing cellular receptor and subsequently fusing with the plasma membrane of the cells. Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein, which is responsible for virus attachment, interacts with the fusion protein in a virus type-specific manner to induce efficient membrane fusion. To elucidate the mechanism of HN-promoted membrane fusion, we characterized a series of Newcastle disease virus HN proteins whose surface residues were mutated. Fusion promotion activity was substantially altered in only the HN proteins with a mutation in the first or sixth β sheet. These regions overlap the large hydrophobic surface of HN; thus, the hydrophobic surface may contain the fusion promotion domain. Furthermore, a comparison of the HN structure crystallized alone or in complex with 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid revealed substantial conformational changes in several loops within or near the hydrophobic surface. Our results suggest that the binding of HN protein to the receptor induces the conformational change of residues near the hydrophobic surface of HN protein and that this change triggers the activation of the F protein, which initiates membrane fusion.

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