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 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.

scholarly journals Integrated stereological and biochemical studies on hepatocytic membranes. I.V. Heterogeneous distribution of marker enzymes on endoplasmic reticulum membranes in fractions.

1980 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
R P Bolender ◽  
D Paumgartner ◽  
D Muellener ◽  
G Losa ◽  
E R Weibel
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Enzyme Activities ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Marker Enzymes ◽  
Heterogeneous Distribution ◽  
Membrane Surface Area ◽  
Total Membrane ◽  
Nadph Cytochrome C Reductase

The purpose of the study was to consider quantitatively the relationships between the surface area of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and constituent marker enzyme activities, as they occur in fractions collected from rat liver homogenates. The ER surface area was estimated in five membrane-containing fractions by use of a combined cytochemical-stereological technique (5), while, at the same time, ER marker enzymes were assayed biochemically. Fraction/homogenate recoveries for the ER enzymes averaged 100%, total membrane surface area 98%, and ER surface area 96%. Relative specific activities, which compare the relative amounts of ER marker enzyme activities to the relative ER surface area in the membrane-containing fractions, indicate variable distributions for glucose-6-phosphatase and NADPH cytochrome c reductase, but not for esterase.

scholarly journals A procedure for the rapid isolation from rat liver of plasma membrane vesicles exhibiting Ca2+-transport and Ca2+-ATPase activities

1984 ◽  
Vol 223 (3) ◽  
pp. 733-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
R J Epping ◽  
F L Bygrave
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Mitochondrial Fraction ◽  
Plasma Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Percoll Density Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Percoll Density Gradient

A technique is described for the isolation of a plasma membrane-enriched preparation from a rat liver post-mitochondrial fraction by using discontinuous Percoll density-gradient centrifugation. The procedure is simple, of high reproducibility and yield and requires a total isolation time of only 90 min. The preparation consists almost exclusively of membrane vesicles and is enriched approx. 26-fold in plasma membrane-localized enzymes with minor contamination (less than 10%) with membranes derived mainly from the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Approx. 20% of the fraction comprises tightly-sealed vesicles in the inverted orientation which are capable of accumulating calcium ions and exhibiting vanadate-insensitive Ca2+-ATPase activity. The properties of these activities, including insensitivity to vanadate, oxalate, and to p-chloromercuribenzoate as well as a lack of requirement for added Mg2+, contrast markedly with the reported properties of Ca2+ transport by the endoplasmic reticulum isolated from rat liver. The technique may have wide application in the study of plasma membrane-associated activities in rat liver, particularly in relation to sinusoidal membrane surface-related events.

scholarly journals The mitochondria-associated endoplasmic-reticulum subcompartment (MAM fraction) of rat liver contains highly active sphingolipid-specific glycosyltransferases

2003 ◽  
Vol 371 (3) ◽  
pp. 1013-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique ARDAIL ◽  
Iuliana POPA ◽  
Jacques BODENNEC ◽  
Pierre LOUISOT ◽  
Daniel SCHMITT ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Sphingoid Base ◽  
Cross Contamination ◽  
Outer Leaflet ◽  
Highly Active ◽  
Golgi Membranes ◽  
Marked Preference ◽  
Intracellular Organelles

Although most glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are thought to be located in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, recent evidence indicates that GSLs and their precursor, ceramide, are also associated with intracellular organelles and, particularly, mitochondria. GSL biosynthesis starts with the formation of ceramide in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is transported by controversial mechanisms to the Golgi apparatus, where stepwise addition of monosaccharides on to ceramides takes place. We now report the presence of GSL-biosynthetic enzymes in a subcompartment of the ER previously characterized and termed ‘mitochondria-associated membrane’ (MAM). MAM is a membrane bridge between the ER and mitochondria that is involved in the biosynthesis and trafficking of phospholipids between the two organelles. Using exogenous acceptors coated on silica gel, we demonstrate the presence of ceramide glucosyltransferase (Cer-Glc-T), glucosylceramide galactosyltransferase and sialyltransferase (SAT) activities in the MAM. Estimation of the marker-enzyme activities showed that glycosyltransferase activities could not be ascribed to cross-contamination of MAM by Golgi membranes. Cer-Glc-T was found to have a marked preference for ceramide bearing phytosphingosine as sphingoid base. SAT activities in MAM led to the synthesis of GM3 ganglioside and small amounts of GD3. GM1 was also synthesized along with GM3 upon incubation of the fraction with exogenous unlabelled GM3, underlying the presence of other sphingolipid-specific glycosyltransferases in MAM. On the basis of our results, we propose MAM as a privileged compartment in providing GSLs for mitochondria.

Quantitative Freeze Fracture Studies of Hepatoma Plasma Membranes

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 598-599
Author(s):  
T.P. Stewart ◽  
T.M. Kowalak ◽  
S.P. Corwin ◽  
S.W. Hui
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Fraction ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Enzyme Assay ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Rat Hepatocytes ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Domain Formation ◽  
Slow Growing

The intramembranous particles (IMP's) seen in most freeze fractured membranes are generally regarded as “randomly” distributed in the plane of the membrane. In certain cases, the distributions of IMP's are apparently non-random. These nonrandom distributions have been described qualitatively as patching, aggregation or domain formation. These characteristics have been used to distinguish transformed cell membranes from their normal parental cells.1We attempted to quantitate the density and distribution of IMP's in the plasma membrane of (control) rat hepatocytes and in the plasma membranes of moderately slow-growing Reuber H-35 hepatomas. Because of the difficulty in obtaining a sufficiently large fractured surface area from the highly invaginated plasma membranes of these cells, the purified plasma membrane fraction was used for this study. The purified fraction2 consists mostly of right-side-out membrane vesicles.3 The purity of the membrane fraction was checked by thin section and marker enzyme assay.2

Ultrastructural analysis of crystalloid endoplasmic reticulum in UT-1 cells and its disappearance in response to cholesterol

1983 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.G. Anderson ◽  
L. Orci ◽  
M.S. Brown ◽  
L.M. Garcia-Segura ◽  
J.L. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Chinese Hamster ◽  
Competitive Inhibitor ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Hmg Coa Reductase ◽  
Membrane Area ◽  
Coa Reductase

The crystalloid endoplasmic reticulum (ER) consists of hexagonally packed membrane tubules that contain 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA reductase), an intrinsic membrane protein that catalyses the rate-limiting step in cholesterol synthesis. The crystalloid ER appears in a clone of Chinese hamster ovary cells, designated UT-1, that contain high levels of HMG CoA reductase as a result of growth in the presence of compactin, a competitive inhibitor of the reductase. In the present studies, we have used ultrastructural morphometry to estimate that the crystalloid ER: (1) occupies about 15% of the volume of UT-1 cells; (2) contains 3.4-fold more membrane area than the plasma membrane; and (3) contains less than 700 subunits of HMG CoA reductase per micrometer2 of membrane surface. The crystalloid ER tubules contain 2000 intramembrane particles per micrometer2 with a mean diameter of 10.4 nm, as determined by freeze-fracture. The crystalloid ER membranes are low in cholesterol, as indicated by the small number of filipin-cholesterol complexes in freeze-fracture images after treatment with filipin. The addition of cholesterol or related sterols to UT-1 cells promoted a rapid and stepwise disappearance of the crystalloid ER. Initially, the crystalloid ER fragmented into randomly arranged vesicles and tubules. Subsequently, membrane-bound structures disappeared from the cell so that after incubation with cholesterol for 24–72 h, the cells appeared completely normal. We found no morphological evidence that autophagic vacuoles participate in the degradation. We conclude: (1) that the crystalloid ER is more extensive than necessary merely to support HMG CoA reductase; and (2) that upon exposure to cholesterol the crystalloid ER is degraded by a process that does not involve autophagy.

Distinct egg membrane vesicles differing in binding and fusion properties contribute to sea urchin male pronuclear envelopes formed in vitro

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 1275-1283 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Collas ◽  
D. Poccia
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Membrane Vesicle ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Sea Urchin Egg ◽  
Nuclear Envelope Formation

We have identified three distinct membrane vesicle populations from sea urchin egg cytoplasm that cooperate in assembling the male pronuclear envelope in vitro. Membranes from sea urchin egg homogenates were separated by buoyant density into five vesicle fractions, three of which bind to demembranated sperm nuclei. Each requires a membranous element (lipophilic structure) derived from the sperm nuclear envelope at the tip and base (poles) of the nucleus in order to bind. Binding is differentially sensitive to protease, high salt and N-ethyl maleimide treatment of the membrane vesicles. MV1 binds at the poles and is required for fusion of the membrane vesicle fractions to each other and to the lipophilic structures. MV2 beta binds over the entire chromatin surface and is enriched in an endoplasmic reticulum marker enzyme. MV2 alpha binds at the nuclear poles, is enriched in a Golgi enzyme marker and is required for fusion of MV2 beta. All three fractions are required for nuclear envelope formation in vitro. The results suggest a multistep process for nuclear envelope formation involving contributions from both sperm and egg, roles for both endoplasmic reticulum and non-endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles, and the localization of a critical element of the fusion machinery in MV1.

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.

scholarly journals Analytical subcellular fractionation of needle-biopsy specimens from human liver

1978 ◽  
Vol 174 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Peters ◽  
C A Seymour
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Density Gradient ◽  
Needle Biopsy ◽  
Human Liver ◽  
Resolving Power ◽  
Equilibrium Density ◽  
Marker Enzyme ◽  
Acid Hydrolases ◽  
Biopsy Specimens

1. Fragments (2-20 mg wet wt.) of closed needle-biopsy specimens from human liver were disrupted in iso-osmotic sucrose and subjected to low-speed centrifugation. The supernatant was layered on a linear sucrose-density gradient in the Beaufay small-volume automatic zonal rotor. The following organelles, with equilibrium densities (g/ml) and principal marker enzyme shown in parentheses, were resolved: plasma membrane (1.12-1.14; 5′-nucleotidase); lysosomes (1.15-1.20; N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase); mitochondria (1.20; malate dehydrogenase); endoplasmic reticulum (1.17-1.21; neutral alpha-glucosidase); peroxisomes (1.22-1.24; catalase). 2. The distribution of particulate alkaline phosphatase and, to a lesser degree, leucine 2-naphthylamidase followed that of 5′-nucleotidase. gamma-Glutamyltransferase was associated with membranes of significantly higher equilibrium density than was 5′-nucleotidase. 3. The distribution of 12 acid hydrolases was determined in the density-gradient fractions. beta-Glucosidase had a predominantly cytosolic localization, but the other enzymes showed a broad distribution of activity throughout the gradient. Evidence was presented for two populations of lysosomes with equilibrium densities of 1.15 and 1.20 g/ml, but containing differing amounts of each enzyme. Further evidence of lysosomal heterogeneity was demonstrated by studying the distribution of isoenzymes of hexosaminidase and of acid phosphatase. 4. The resolving power of the centrifugation procedure can be further enhanced with membrane perturbants. Digitonin (0.12 mM) selectively disrupted lysosomes, markedly increased the equilibrium density of plasma-membrane components and lowered the density of the endoplasmic reticulum, but did not affect the mitochondria or peroxisomes. Pyrophosphate (15 mM) selectively lowered the equilibrium density of the endoplasmic reticulum.

scholarly journals Studies on the orientation of brush-border membrane vesicles

1978 ◽  
Vol 172 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Haase ◽  
A Schäfer ◽  
H Murer ◽  
R Kinne
Keyword(s):  
Brush Border ◽  
Brush Border Membrane ◽  
Rat Kidney ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Brush Border Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Immunological Methods ◽  
Kidney Cortex ◽  
Asymmetric Distribution ◽  
Rat Kidney Cortex

Orientation of rat renal and intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles was studied with two independent methods: electron-microscopic freeze-fracture technique and immunological methods. With the freeze-fracture technique a distinct asymmetric distribution of particles on the two membrane fracture faces was demonstrated; this was used as a criterion for orientation of the isolated membrane vesicles. For the immunological approach the accessibility or inaccessibility of aminopeptidase M localized on the outer surface of the cell membrane to antibodies was used. With both methods we showed that the brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from rat kidney cortex and from rat small intestine for transport studies are predominantly orientated right-side out.

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