scholarly journals Ultrastructure of the sodium pump: Comparison of thin sectioning, negative staining, and freeze-fracture of purified, membrane-bound (Na+, K+)-ATPase

1977 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Deguchi ◽  
PL Jorgensen ◽  
AB Maunsbach
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Intramembranous Particle ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Intramembranous Particles ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
Surface Particle ◽  
Protein Components

Purified (Na+, K+)-ATPase was studied by electron microscopy after thin sectioning, negative staining, and freeze-fracturing, particular emphasis being paid to the dimensions and frequencies of substructures in the membranes. Ultrathin sections show exclusively flat or cup-shaped membrane fragments which are triple-layered along much of their length and have diameters of 0.1-0.6 μm. Negative staining revealed a distinct substructure of particles with diameters between 30 and 50 A and with a frequency of 12,500 +/- 2,400 (SD) per μm(2). Comparisons with sizes of the protein components suggest that each surface particle contains as its major component one large catalytic chain with mol wt close to 100,000 and that two surface particles unite to form the unit of (Na+,K+)-ATPase which binds one molecule of ATP or ouabain. The further observations that the surface particles protrude from the membrane surface and are observed on both membrane surfaces in different patterns and degrees of clustering suggest that protein units span the membrane and are capable of lateral mobility. Freeze-fracturing shows intramembranous particles with diameters of 90-110 A and distributed on both concave and convex fracture faces with a frequency of 3,410 +/- 370 per μm(2) and 390 +/- 170 per μm(2), respectively. The larger diameters and three to fourfold smaller frequency of the intramembranous particles as compared to the surface particles seen after negative staining may reflect technical differences between methods, but it is more likely that the intramembranous particle is an oliogomer composed of two or even more of the protein units which form the surface particles.

Stages in the assembly of pleated and smooth septate junctions in developing insect embryos

1982 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.J. Lane ◽  
L.S. Swales
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Organizational Capacity ◽  
Intramembranous Particle ◽  
Septate Junctions ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Intramembranous Particles ◽  
Initial Event ◽  
Random Arrays ◽  
Insect Embryos

The stages that occur during the assembly of both pleated and smooth septate junctions in developing insect tissues have been examined. The oesophagus and mid-gut of the embryonic moth, and the oesophagus and central nervous system (CNS) of the locust embryo, have been investigated in thin sections and by freeze-fracture during the course of membrane biogenesis. The smooth septate junctions developing between the lateral borders of the mid-gut exhibit, in the early stages, individual intramembranous particles becoming aligned into short ridges. These ultimately migrate over the membrane face and fuse into longer arrays, which become stacked in parallel with other ridges to form the characteristic mature form of the junction just before hatching. Pleated septate junctions occur between the cells both of the oesophagus and of the perineurium, which ensheathes the neurones and the neuroglial cells in the locust CNS; these are also fully formed by the end of embryonic development. The pleated junctions appear to be assembled during the later stages of CNS or gut differentiation, arising first in embryos about two-thirds of the way through development. During their maturation, the initial event seems to be a membrane depression in the P face, which occurs in patches over the presumptive junctional membrane. Into these depressed regions or ‘formation-plaque’ areas, 8–10 nm particles appear to be inserted intramembranously in apparently random arrays. These particles are the most common elements but larger particles are also present; the former ultimately become aligned in a row. With time, other intramembranous particles come to lie in rows parallel to the original one. By hatching, the typical undulating stacks of parallel intramembranous particle rows are fully formed. Gap junctions also form between the same perineurial or oesophageal cells, usually before, but in some cases at the same time, or just after, the septate junctions have been assembled. Tricellular associations between cells also appear around the same time in embryonic development. The simultaneous assembly of these different junctions reflects a high degree of organizational capacity at the membrane level.

scholarly journals Reversible particle movements associated with unstacking and restacking of chloroplast membranes in vitro.

1976 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
L A Staehelin
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Chloroplast Membranes ◽  
Ps Ii ◽  
Membrane Particles ◽  
Intramembranous Particles ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Ps Ii Activity

Freeze-fracture and freeze-etch techniques have been employed to study the supramolecular structure of isolated spinach chloroplast membranes and to monitor structural changes associated with in vitro unstacking and restacking of these membranes. High-resolution particle size histograms prepared from the four fracture faces of normal chloroplast membranes reveal the presence of four distinct categories of intramembranous particles that are nonrandomly distributed between grana and stroma membranes. The large surface particles show a one to one relationship with the EF-face particles. Since the distribution of these particles between grana and stroma membranes coincides with the distribution of photosystem II (PS II) activity, it is argued that they could be structural equivalents of PS II complexes. An interpretative model depicting the structural relationship between all categories of particles is presented. Experimental unstacking of chloroplast membranes in low-salt medium for at least 45 min leads to a reorganization of the lamellae and to a concomitant intermixing of the different categories of membrane particles by means of translational movements in the plane of the membrane. In vitro restacking of such experimentally unstacked chloroplast membranes can be achieved by adding 2-20 mM MgCl2 or 100-200 mM NaCl to the membrane suspension. Membranes allowed to restack for at least 1 h at room temperature demonstrate a resegregation of the EF-face particles into the newly formed stacked membrane regions to yield a pattern and a size distribution nearly indistinguishable from the normally stacked controls. Restacking occurs in two steps: a rapid adhesion of adjoining stromal membrane surfaces with little particle movement, and a slower diffusion of additional large intramembranous particles into the stacked regions where they become trapped. Chlorophyll a:chlorophyll b ratios of membrane fraction obtained from normal, unstacked, and restacked membranes show that the particle movements are paralleled by movements of pigment molecules. The directed and reversible movements of membrane particles in isolated chloroplasts are compared with those reported for particles of plasma membranes.

scholarly journals Preparation and morphology of sarcoplasmic reticulum terminal cisternae from rabbit skeletal muscle.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Saito ◽  
S Seiler ◽  
A Chu ◽  
S Fleischer
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Thin Section ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Section Electron ◽  
Terminal Cisternae

We have developed a procedure to isolate, from skeletal muscle, enriched terminal cisternae of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), which retain morphologically intact junctional "feet" structures similar to those observed in situ. The fraction is largely devoid of transverse tubule, plasma membrane, mitochondria, triads (transverse tubules junctionally associated with terminal cisternae), and longitudinal cisternae, as shown by thin-section electron microscopy of representative samples. The terminal cisternae vesicles have distinctive morphological characteristics that differ from the isolated longitudinal cisternae (light SR) obtained from the same gradient. The terminal cisternae consist of two distinct types of membranes, i.e., the junctional face membrane and the Ca2+ pump protein-containing membrane, whereas the longitudinal cisternae contain only the Ca2+ pump protein-containing membrane. The junctional face membrane of the terminal cisternae contains feet structures that extend approximately 12 nm from the membrane surface and can be clearly visualized in thin section through using tannic acid enhancement, by negative staining and by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Sections of the terminal cisternae, cut tangential to and intersecting the plane of the junctional face, reveal a checkerboardlike lattice of alternating, square-shaped feet structures and spaces each 20 nm square. Structures characteristic of the Ca2+ pump protein are not observed between the feet at the junctional face membrane, either in thin section or by negative staining, even though the Ca2+ pump protein is observed in the nonjunctional membrane on the remainder of the same vesicle. Likewise, freeze-fracture replicas reveal regions of the P face containing ropelike strands instead of the high density of the 7-8-nm particles referable to the Ca2+ pump protein. The intravesicular content of the terminal cisternae, mostly Ca2+-binding protein (calsequestrin), is organized in the form of strands, sometimes appearing paracrystalline, and attached to the inner face of the membrane in the vicinity of the junctional feet. The terminal cisternae preparation is distinct from previously described heavy SR fractions in that it contains the highest percentage of junctional face membrane with morphologically well-preserved junctional feet structures.

scholarly journals Surfaces of rod photoreceptor disk membranes: integral membrane components.

1982 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Roof ◽  
J E Heuser
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Integral Membrane Protein ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Rod Photoreceptor ◽  
Molecular Identity ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Cytoplasmic Surface ◽  
Membrane Components ◽  
Toad Bufo

The membrane surfaces within the rod outer segment of the toad, Bufo marinus, were exposed by rapid-freezing followed by freeze-fracture and deep-etching. Platinum-carbon replicas of disk membranes prepared in this way demonstrate a distinct sidedness. The membrane surface that faces the lumen of the disk shows a fine granularity; particles of approximately 6 nm are packed at a density of approximately 30,000/micron 2. These dimensions suggest that the particles represent protrusions of the integral membrane protein, rhodopsin, into the intradisk space. In addition, when rhodopsin packing is intentionally perturbed by exhaustive digestion with phospholipase C, a concomitant change is observed in the appearance of the luminal surface granularity. The cytoplasmic surface of the disk rarely displays this rough texture; instead it exhibits a collection of much larger particles (8-12 nm) present at approximately 10% of the concentration of rhodopsin. This is about the size and concentration expected for certain light-regulated enzymes, cGMP phosphodiesterase and GTP-binding protein, which are currently thought to localize on or near the cytoplasmic surface of the disk. The molecular identity of the 8-12-nm particles will be identified in the following companion paper. A further differentiation of the cytoplasmic surface can be seen around the very edge, or rim, of each disk. This rim has relatively few 8-12-nm particles and instead displays short filamentlike structures connecting it to other membranes. These filaments extend between adjacent disks, across disk incisures, and from disk rims to the nearby plasma membrane.

Teliospores of Entorrhiza casparyana (Ustilaginales): a correlated thin-sectioning and freeze–fracture study of endogenously dormant spores

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2525-2539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Fineran ◽  
Judith M. Fineran
Keyword(s):  
Outer Layer ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Lipid Bodies ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
Single Nucleus ◽  
Fracture Study ◽  
Small Clusters

A correlated thin-sectioning and freeze–fracturing approach was used to reveal the ultrastructure of endogenously dormant teliospores in the smut fungus Entorrhiza casparyana (Magn.) Lagerh. Conventional fixation and embedding methods yielded poor preservation of the wall and protoplasm. Successful preservation was achieved by fixing frozen and cryosectioned spores in glutaraldehyde and subsequently processing by standard procedures for transmission electron microscopy. Freeze–fracturing provided cross- and contour-fractured views of the protoplasm and the different layers of the wall. The wall is thick, consisting of three main layers: outer, middle, and inner, with the outer and inner layers further differentiated into zones. The warty zone dominates the outer layer and consists of radial protuberances (warts) with the regions between filled to varying degrees with similar wall material containing electron-transparent lamellae. The extent of differentiation of the warty zone is reflected in the surface morphology of the spores, which ranges from verrucose to almost smooth. At the base of the outer layer is an electron-translucent irregular zone. The middle and inner layers are regular in thickness around the spore, with the middle layer being the most electron dense. The inner layer is differentiated into three zones. The most distinctive is zone 2 which in freeze–fractured walls has an unique mosaic of striae. Cytochemical staining of the wall for polysaccharide material gives a positive reaction only for the warty zone. The protoplasm contains a single nucleus and is dominated by numerous spheroidal storage lipid bodies. Squeezed among the lipid bodies are organelles, believed to be microbodies, containing a granular matrix and often electron-transparent areas. These organelles failed to show catalase activity with the 3,3′-diaminobenzidine method. Occasional short profiles of endoplasmic reticulum cisternae, a few mitochondria with sparse cristae, dispersed small clusters of glycogen, and sometimes scattered ribosomes are also present in the cytoplasm. All these features are typical of dormant spores with a low metabolic activity.

scholarly journals Integrated stereological and biochemical studies on hepatocytic membranes. III. Relative surface of endoplasmic reticulum membranes in microsomal fractions estimated on freeze-fracture preparations.

1978 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
G A Losa ◽  
E R Weibel ◽  
R P Bolender
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Biochemical Data ◽  
Numerical Density ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Outer Leaflet

New methods are required for identifying membranes in subcellular fractions with respect to their origin, if such preparations are to be evaluated morphometrically. One method is freeze-fracturing which reveals intramembrane particles whose size, pattern, and numerical density differ for various membrane types. The question is examined whether the differences in numerical particle density per square micrometer of membrane (alpha) can be used to differentiate membrane vesicles found in microsomal fractions from liver cells with respect to their origin in the hepatocytes. It is found that the range of alpha for the protoplasmic face (PF) of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane (1,900 less than alpha less than 3,250) is intermediate between those for plasma and mitochondrial membranes. Since PF(ER) should appear in the outer leaflet of microsomal vesicles, alpha was estimated on concave profiles of freeze-fracture preparations; the numerical frequency distribution of vesicles with respect to alpha was trimodal, with a major peak around 2,900/micrometer2 and 66% of the vesicles in the range determined for PF(ER). Using a new stereological method, it was calculated that 63% of the membrane surface in these microsomal fractions was of ER origin by this criterion. On the same preparations, an attempt was made to label the ER-derived membranes cytochemically for glucose-6-phosphatase. A line intersection count revealed 62% of the membrane surface to be of ER origin on the basis of marker enzyme labeling. These findings indicate a smaller part of ER membranes in microsomal fractions than would be predicted from biochemical data (77%). The possible reasons for such discrepancies are discussed; shifts in particle densities due to the preparation procedure could lead to an underestimate by freeze-fracturing, whereas the prediction from biochemical data could be overestimates if marker enzymes were not homogeneously distributed.

scholarly journals FREEZE-FRACTURING OF NERVE GROWTH CONES AND YOUNG FIBERS

1974 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl H. Pfenninger ◽  
Richard P. Bunge
Keyword(s):  
Growth Cone ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Nerve Tissue ◽  
Intramembranous Particle ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Intramembranous Particles ◽  
Nerve Growth Cones

Neural and non-neural cellular processes have been studied in organotypic cultures of spinal cord and olfactory bulb by means of the freeze-fracturing technique. Identification of specific cellular elements in replicas has been achieved by comparison with thin-sectioned material in which differences in shape and contents are evident. Freeze-fracturing reveals that neural growth cones may be distinguished from glial pseudopodia by the low number of intramembranous particles within their plasma membrane; the counts of particles within the growth cone membrane average 85/µm2 (for the inner leaflet) as opposed to hundreds per square micrometer in glial pseudopodia. Whereas the intramembranous particle number in glial pseudopodia is only slightly lower than in their perikaryal plasmalemma, the number of particles in outgrowing axons increases about eightfold from the periphery towards the perikaryon. Furthermore, with prolonged time of growth in culture, the particle density in the young nerve fibers increases by about the same factor. The same phenomenon, i.e. a low intramembranous particle level at earlier stages and an increase in numbers as the nerve fiber matures, is observed in fetal nerve tissue in vivo. These findings suggest that the plasmalemma of the outgrowing nerve, and especially of the growth cone, is immature and that maturation is accompanied by the insertion of intramembranous particles. Furthermore, these data indicate that the chemistry of the growth cone membrane is distinct from that of the neuron soma which may be significant for the mechanisms of guidance and recognition in the growing nerve tip.

scholarly journals Isolation and properties of mesosomal membrane fractions from Micrococcus lysodeikticus

1972 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Owen ◽  
John H. Freer
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Membrane Vesicle ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Optimum Yield ◽  
Autolytic Enzyme ◽  
Micrococcus Lysodeikticus ◽  
Full Complement ◽  
Protein Components

1. A method is described for the isolation of pure mesosomal membrane fractions from Micrococcus lysodeikticus. 2. Plasmolysis of cells, before wall digestion, was necessary for effective mesosome release. 3. The effect of mild shearing forces, temperature and time upon the release of mesosomal membrane from protoplasts was investigated. 4. The optimum yield of mesosomal membranes from stable protoplasts was achieved at 10mm-Mg2+. 5. Mesosomal membrane vesicle fractions prepared at differing Mg2+ concentrations above 10mm were similar in chemical composition. 6. Comparison of the properties of peripheral and mesosomal membrane fractions revealed major differences in the distribution of protein components, membrane phosphorus, mannose and dehydrogenase activities between the two fractions. 7. Only cytochrome b556 was detected in mesosomal membranes, whereas peripheral membranes contained a full complement of cytochromes. 8. Preliminary investigations suggested the localization of an autolytic enzyme(s) in the mesosomal vesicles. 9. The anatomy of mesosomal and peripheral membrane have been compared by the negative-staining and freeze-fracture technique. 10. The results are discussed in relation to a plausible role for the mesosome.

scholarly journals A COMPARISON OF CHLOROPLAST MEMBRANE SURFACES VISUALIZED BY FREEZE-ETCH AND NEGATIVE STAINING TECHNIQUES; AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MEMBRANE FRACTIONS OBTAINED FROM DIGITONIN-TREATED SPINACH CHLOROPLASTS

1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Arntzen ◽  
R. A. Dilley ◽  
F. L. Crane
Keyword(s):  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Internal Surface ◽  
Coupling Factor ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Fracture Plane ◽  
Chloroplast Membranes ◽  
Chloroplast Membrane ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Freeze Etching

Spinach chloroplast lamellae were washed free of negatively staining surface particles (carboxydismutase and coupling factor protein) and the resulting smooth-surfaced lamellae still showed the usual large (175 A) and small (110 A) particles seen by freeze-etching. Therefore, the freeze-fracture plane probably occurs along an internal surface of the chloroplast membrane. Fractions obtained by differential centrifugation of digitonin-treated chloroplast membranes were studied by negative staining, thin sectioning, and freeze-etching techniques for electron microscopy. The material sedimenting between 1,000 g and 10,000 g, enriched in photosystem II activity, was shown to consist of membrane fragments. These freeze-etched membrane fragments were found to have large particles on most of the exposed fracture faces. The large particles had the same size and distribution pattern as the 175 A particles seen in intact chloroplast membranes. The material sedimenting between 50,000 g and 144,000 g, which had only photosystem I activity, was found to consist of particles in various degrees of aggregation. Freeze-etching of this fraction revealed only small particles corresponding to the 110 A particles seen in intact chloroplasts. A model is presented suggesting that chloroplast lamellar membranes have a binary structure, which digitonin splits into two components. The two membrane fragments have different structures, revealed by freeze-etching, and different photochemical and biochemical functions.

Freeze-fracture observations on changes in the distribution of Filipin-sterol complexes during epididymal maturation and capacitation of boar spermatozoa

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 90-91
Author(s):  
N. Seki ◽  
Y. Toyama ◽  
T. Nagano
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Final Concentration ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Physiological Conditions ◽  
Epididymal Maturation ◽  
Cacodylate Buffer ◽  
Sperm Membrane ◽  
Boar Spermatozoa

It is believed that i ntramembra.nous sterols play an essential role in membrane stability and permeability. To investigate the distribution changes of sterols in sperm membrane during epididymal maturation and capacitation, filipin has been used as a cytochemical probe for the detection for membrane sterols. Using this technique in combination with freeze fracturing, we examined the boar spermatozoa under various physiological conditions.The spermatozoa were collected from: 1) caput, corpus and cauda epididymides, 2) sperm rich fraction of ejaculates, and 3)the uterus 2hr after natural coition. They were fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.05M cacodylate buffer (pH 7.4), and treated with the filipin solution (final concentration : 0.02.0.05%) for 24hr at 4°C with constant agitation. After the filipin treatment, replicas were made by conventional freeze-fracture technique. The density of filipin-sterol complexes (FSCs) was determined in the E face of the plasma membrane of head regions.

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