scholarly journals Subcellular distribution of the alpha subunit(s) of Gi: visualization by immunofluorescent and immunogold labeling.

1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 1097-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Lewis ◽  
M J Woolkalis ◽  
G L Gerton ◽  
R M Smith ◽  
L Jarett ◽  
...  

The subcellular distribution of the alpha subunit(s) of Gi has an obvious bearing on the ability of this protein to interact with receptors and targets and on its potential to serve in still unexplored capacities. In this study, we have examined the distribution of Gi alpha by means of light and electron microscopy. The cells employed were mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, normal rat kidney fibroblasts, rat C6 glioma cells, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and human 293 kidney fibroblasts. By indirect immunofluorescence, two patterns of Gi alpha were evident. The more prominent was that associated with phase-dense, cytoplasmic structures exhibiting a tubule-like morphology. A similar distribution was noted for mitochondria, indicating attachment to a subset of microtubules. The second pattern appeared as a diffuse, particulate fluorescence associated with the plasma membrane. By immunogold labeling and electron microscopy, two populations of Gi alpha were again evident. In this instance, labeling of the plasma membrane was the more prominent. Gold particles were most often evenly distributed along the plasma membrane and were concentrated along microspikes. The second, less abundant population of Gi alpha represented the subunit (or fragments) within lysosomes. Specificity in immunolabeling was confirmed in all instances by immunotransfer blotting, the use of antibodies differing in specificities for epitopes within Gi alpha, the absence of labeling with preimmune sera, and the decrease in labeling after preincubation of antisera with appropriate peptides. These results support the proposal that several populations of Gi alpha exist: those evident within the cytoplasm by immunofluorescence, those present at the plasma membrane, and those evident within lysosomes by immunogold labeling.

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 908-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Powell ◽  
Charles E. Bracker ◽  
David J. Sternshein

The cytological events involved in the transformation of vegetative hyphae of the zygomycete Gilbertella persicaria (Eddy) Hesseltine into chlamydospores were studied with light and electron microscopy. Thirty hours after sporangiospores were inoculated into YPG broth, swellings appeared along the aseptate hyphae. Later, septa, traversed by plasmodesmata, delimited each end of the hyphal swellings and compartmentalized these hyphal regions as they differentiated into chlamydospores. Nonswollen regions adjacent to chlamydospores remained as isthmuses. Two additional wall layers appeared within the vegetative wall of the developing chlamydospores. An alveolate, electron-dense wall formed first, and then an electron-transparent layer containing concentrically oriented fibers formed between this layer and the plasma membrane. Rather than a mere condensation of cytoplasm, development and maturation of the multinucleate chlamydospores involved extensive cytoplasmic changes such as an increase in reserve products, lipid and glycogen, an increase and then disappearance of vacuoles, and the breakdown of many mitochondria. Underlying the plasma membrane during chlamydospore wall formation were endoplasmic reticulum, multivesicular bodies, vesicles with fibrillar contents, vesicles with electron-transparent contents, and cisternal rings containing the Golgi apparatus marker enzyme, thiamine pyrophosphatase. Acid phosphatase activity was localized cytochemically in a cisterna which enclosed mitochondria and in vacuoles which contained membrane fragments. Tightly packed membrane whorls and single membrane bounded sacs with finely granular matrices surrounding vacuoles were unique during chlamydospore development. Microbodies were rare in the mature chlamydospore, but endoplasmic reticulum was closely associated with lipid globules. As chlamydospores developed, the cytoplasm in the isthmus became highly vacuolated, lipid globules were closely associated with vacuoles, mitochondria were broken down in vacuoles, unusual membrane configurations appeared, and eventually the membranes degenerated. Unlike chlamydospores, walls of the isthmus did not thicken, but irregularly shaped appositions containing numerous channels formed at intervals on the inside of these walls. The pattern of cytoplasmic transformations during chlamydospore development is similar to events leading to the formation of zygospores and sporangiospores.


1979 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Büechi ◽  
T Bächi

A method was developed for directly observing the inner surfaces of plasma membranes by light and electron microscopy. Human erythrocytes were attached to cover slips (glass or mica) treated with aminopropylsilane and glutaraldehyde, and then disrupted by direct application of a jet of buffer, which removed the distal portion of the cells, thus exposing the cytoplasmic surface (PS) of the flattened membranes. Antispectrin antibodies and Sendai virus particles were employed as sensitive markers for, respectively, the PS and the external surface (ES) of the membrane; their localization by immunofluorescence or electron microscopy demonstrated that the major asymmetrical features of the plasma membrane were preserved. The fusion of Sendai virus particles with cells was investigated using double-labeling immunofluorescence techniques. Virus adsorbed to the ES of cells at 4 degrees C was not accessible to fluorescein-labeled antibodies applied from the PS side. After incubation at 37 degrees C, viral antigens could be detected at the PS. These antigens, however, remained localized and did not diffuse from the site of attachment, as is usually seen in viral antigens accessible on the ES. They may therefore represent internal viral antigens not incorporated into the plasma membrane as a result of virus-cell fusion.


1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
J K Reddy ◽  
M S Rao ◽  
D E Moody ◽  
S A Qureshi

The development of peroxisomes, lysosomes and endocytic vacuoles in regenerating cells of the pars recta (P3 segment) of proximal tubules, in rats given a single interperitoneal injection of d-serine (80 mg/100 g.b.wt), was studied by light and electron microscopy using cytochemical methods. Rapid proliferation of cells occurred between 2 and 5 days after d-serine induced tubular necrosis; by day 6 almost all injured tubules were re-epithelialized with flat or low cuboidal cells. Peroxisomes and lysosomes were not observed during the period of rapid cell multiplication i.e., between 2 and 6 days after d-serine injection. Restitution of mitochondrial population preceded the development of peroxisomes in the newly regenerated cells of P3 tubules. Maximum development of peroxisomes occurred between 9 and 14 days after d-serine injection. The formation of peroxisomes appeared to correlate closely with the differentiation of apical endocytic vacuoles and the brush border. Lysosomes in the regenerated cells of P3 tubules were the last to develop.


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1454-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Fry ◽  
S. B. McIver

Light and electron microscopy were used to observe development of the lateral palatal brush in Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae. Development was sampled at 4-h intervals from second- to third-instar ecdyses. Immediately after second-instar ecdysis, the epidermis apolyses from newly deposited cuticle in the lateral palatal pennicular area to form an extensive extracellular cavity into which the fourth-instar lateral palatal brush filaments grow as cytoplasmic extensions. On reaching their final length, the filaments deposit cuticulin, inner epicuticle, and procuticle sequentially on their outer surfaces. The lateral palatal crossbars, on which the lateral palatal brush filaments insert, form after filament development is complete. At the beginning of development, the organelles involved in plasma membrane and cuticle production are located at the base and middle of the cells. As the filament rudiments grow, most rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and Golgi apparatus move to the apex of the epidermal cells and into the filament rudiments. After formation of the lateral palatal brush filaments and lateral palatal crossbars, extensive organelle breakdown occurs. Lateral palatal brush formation is unusual in that no digestion and resorption of old endocuticle occurs prior to deposition of new cuticle. No mucopolysaccharide secretion by the lateral palatal brush epidermis was observed, nor were muscle fibres observed to attach to the lateral palatal crossbars, as has been suggested by other workers.


2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 3191-3203 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Homman-Loudiyi ◽  
K. Hultenby ◽  
W. Britt ◽  
C. Söderberg-Nauclér

ABSTRACT Although considerable progress has been made towards characterizing virus assembly processes, assignment of the site of tegumentation and envelopment for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is still not clear. In this study, we examined the envelopment of HCMV particles in human lung fibroblasts (HF) HL 411 and HL 19, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, human pulmonary arterial endothelial cells, and arterial smooth muscle cells at different time points after infection by electron microscopy (EM), immunohistochemistry, and confocal microscopy analysis. Double-immunofluorescence labeling experiments demonstrated colocalization of the HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) with the Golgi resident enzyme mannosidase II, the Golgi marker TGN (trans-Golgi network) 46, and the secretory vacuole marker Rab 3 in all cell types investigated. Final envelopment of tegumented capsids was observed at 5 days postinfection by EM, when tegumented capsids budded into subcellular compartments located in the cytoplasm, in close proximity to the Golgi apparatus. Immunogold labeling and EM analysis confirmed staining of the budding compartment with HCMV gB, Rab 3, and mannosidase II in HL 411 cells. However, the markers Rab 1, Rab 2, Rab 7, Lamp 1 (late endosomes and lysosomes), and Lamp 2 (lysosomes) neither showed specific staining of the budding compartment in the immunogold labeling experiments nor colocalized with gB in the immunofluorescent colocalization experiments in any cell type studied. Together, these results suggest that the final envelopment of HCMV particles takes place mainly into a Golgi-derived secretory vacuole destined for the plasma membrane, which may release new infectious virus particles by fusion with the plasma membrane.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document