scholarly journals Lattice micropatterning of electron microscopy grids for improved cellular cryo-electron tomography throughput

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leeya Engel ◽  
Claudia G. Vasquez ◽  
Elizabeth A. Montabana ◽  
Belle M. Sow ◽  
Marcin P. Walkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Cell Nuclei ◽  
Cell Contacts ◽  
Cellular Environment ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography ◽  
A Cell ◽  
High Throughput Imaging ◽  
Cell Cell

Cryo-electron tomography is the highest resolution tool available for structural analysis of macromolecular complexes within their native cellular environment. At present, data acquisition suffers from low throughput, in part due to the low probability of positioning a cell such that the subcellular structure of interest is on a region of the electron microscopy (EM) grid that is suitable for imaging. Here, we leverage photo-micropatterning of EM grids to optimally position endothelial cells to enable high-throughput imaging of cell-cell contacts. This method increases the distance between contacts and the thicker cell nuclei such that the regions of interest are sufficiently thin for imaging. The resulting pipeline enables the observation of a diverse array of structures at endothelial cell-cell contacts, demonstrating the utility of this technique in enhancing the rate of data acquisition for cellular cryo-electron tomography studies.

Lattice micropatterning for cryo-electron tomography studies of cell-cell contacts

2021 ◽  
Vol 213 (4) ◽  
pp. 107791
Author(s):  
Leeya Engel ◽  
Claudia G. Vasquez ◽  
Elizabeth A. Montabana ◽  
Belle M. Sow ◽  
Marcin P. Walkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Cell Contacts ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography ◽  
Cell Cell

scholarly journals In situ structure of virus capsids within cell nuclei by correlative light and cryo-electron tomography

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetha Vijayakrishnan ◽  
Marion McElwee ◽  
Colin Loney ◽  
Frazer Rixon ◽  
David Bhella
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Structure Determination ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cell Nuclei ◽  
Nuclear Egress ◽  
Virus Capsids ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography

Abstract Cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a key method for structure determination involves imaging purified material embedded in vitreous ice. Images are then computationally processed to obtain three-dimensional structures approaching atomic resolution. There is increasing interest in extending structural studies by cryo-EM into the cell, where biological structures and processes may be imaged in context. The limited penetrating power of electrons prevents imaging of thick specimens (> 500 nm) however. Cryo-sectioning methods employed to overcome this are technically challenging, subject to artefacts or involve specialised and costly equipment. Here we describe the first structure of herpesvirus capsids determined by sub-tomogram averaging from nuclei of eukaryotic cells, achieved by cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) of re-vitrified cell sections prepared using the Tokuyasu method. Our reconstructions confirm that the capsid associated tegument complex is present on capsids prior to nuclear egress. We demonstrate that this method is suited to both 3D structure determination and correlative light/electron microscopy, thus expanding the scope of cryogenic cellular imaging.

scholarly journals In situ structure determination of virus capsids imaged within cell nuclei by correlative light and cryo-electron tomography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swetha Vijayakrishnan ◽  
Marion McElwee ◽  
Colin Loney ◽  
Frazer Rixon ◽  
David Bhella
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Structure Determination ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
3D Structure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cell Nuclei ◽  
Nuclear Egress ◽  
Virus Capsids ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography

AbstractCryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a key method for structure determination involves imaging purified material embedded in vitreous ice. Images are then computationally processed to obtain three-dimensional structures at atomic resolution. There is increasing interest in extending structural studies by cryo-EM into the cell, where biological structures and processes may be imaged in context. The limited penetrating power of electrons prevents imaging of thick specimens (>500 nm) however. Cryo-sectioning methods employed to overcome this are technically challenging, subject to artefacts or involve specialised equipment of limited availability. Here we describe the first structure of herpesvirus capsids determined by sub-tomogram averaging from nuclei of eukaryotic cells, achieved by cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) of re-vitrified cell sections prepared using the Tokuyasu method. Our reconstructions reveal that the capsid associated tegument complex is present on capsids prior to nuclear egress. We show that this approach to cryogenic imaging of cells is suited to both correlative light/electron microscopy and 3D structure determination.

scholarly journals Lattice Micropatterning of Electron Microscopy Grids for Improved Cellular Cryo-Electron Tomography Throughput

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 173a
Author(s):  
Leeya Engel ◽  
Claudia G. Vasquez ◽  
Elizabeth A. Montabana ◽  
Belle M. Sow ◽  
Marcin P. Walkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography

scholarly journals An Economical, Portable Manual Cryogenic Plunge Freezer for the Preparation of Vitrified Biological Samples for Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-418
Author(s):  
Jamie S. Depelteau ◽  
Gert Koning ◽  
Wen Yang ◽  
Ariane Briegel
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Tomography ◽  
Particle Analysis ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Cryo Electron Tomography ◽  
Specialized Equipment ◽  
Improved Design ◽  
Commercial Equipment ◽  
Local Machine

AbstractVisualizing biological structures and cellular processes in their native state is a major goal of many scientific laboratories. In the past 20 years, the technique of preserving samples by vitrification has greatly expanded, specifically for use in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Here, we report on improvements in the design and use of a portable manual cryogenic plunge freezer that is intended for use in laboratories that are not equipped for the cryopreservation of samples. The construction of the instrument is economical, can be produced by a local machine shop without specialized equipment, and lowers the entry barriers for newcomers with a reliable alternative to costly commercial equipment. The improved design allows for successful freezing of isolated proteins for single particle analysis as well as bacterial cells for cryo-electron tomography. With this instrument, groups will be able to prepare vitreous samples whenever and wherever necessary, which can then be imaged at local or national cryo-EM facilities.

scholarly journals Cell-cell contacts mediated by E-cadherin (uvomorulin) restrict invasive behavior of L-cells.

1991 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
W C Chen ◽  
B Obrink
Keyword(s):  
Cell Density ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Cellular Migration ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Collagen Gels ◽  
Cell Contacts ◽  
L Cells ◽  
A Cell ◽  
E Cadherin ◽  
Cell Cell

L-cells were cotransfected with plasmids coding for mouse E-cadherin (uvomorulin) and the neophosphotransferase gene, and stable transfectants expressing E-cadherin at the cell surface were selected and cloned. Control transfection was done with the neophosphotransferase gene alone. The invasive migration of transfected and untransfected L-cells into three-dimensional collagen gels was then analyzed. L-cells not expressing E-cadherin migrated efficiently into the gels, whereas invasion of the E-cadherin-expressing L-cells was restricted in a cell density dependent manner. At sparse density, when the cells exhibited little cell-cell contacts, no difference was observed between the level of invasion of the cadherin-expressing cells and the control cells. However, with increasing cell density, decreasing amounts of the cadherin-expressing cells but increasing amounts of the control cells migrated into the gels. At confluent density hardly any cadherin-expressing cells were able to migrate into the gels. The inhibition of the invasion of the cadherin-expressing cells could be reverted if confluent cells were cultured in the presence of monoclonal antibodies against E-cadherin. Since the expression of E-cadherin did not influence the invasive mobility of single cells, these results indicate that E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts inhibited invasive cellular migration. Time-lapse videoscopy and studies of cell migration from a monolayer into a cell-free area demonstrated that the restricted invasion could be explained by contact inhibition of cell movement of the cadherin-expressing cells.

scholarly journals Vascular Endothelial-Cadherin Stabilizes at Cell–Cell Junctions by Anchoring to Circumferential Actin Bundles through α- and β-Catenins in Cyclic AMP-Epac-Rap1 Signal-activated Endothelial Cells

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuomi Noda ◽  
Jianghui Zhang ◽  
Shigetomo Fukuhara ◽  
Satoshi Kunimoto ◽  
Michihiro Yoshimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Adhesion ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Green Fluorescence Protein ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Vascular Endothelial ◽  
Cell Contacts ◽  
Actin Bundles ◽  
Dependent Cell ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cell Cell

Vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin is a cell–cell adhesion molecule involved in endothelial barrier functions. Previously, we reported that cAMP-Epac-Rap1 signal enhances VE-cadherin–dependent cell adhesion. Here, we further scrutinized how cAMP-Epac-Rap1 pathway promotes stabilization of VE-cadherin at the cell–cell contacts. Forskolin induced circumferential actin bundling and accumulation of VE-cadherin fused with green fluorescence protein (VEC-GFP) on the bundled actin filaments. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analyses using VEC-GFP revealed that forskolin stabilizes VE-cadherin at cell–cell contacts. These effects of forskolin were mimicked by an activator for Epac but not by that for protein kinase A. Forskolin-induced both accumulation and stabilization of junctional VEC-GFP was impeded by latrunculin A. VE-cadherin, α-catenin, and β-catenin were dispensable for forskolin-induced circumferential actin bundling, indicating that homophilic VE-cadherin association is not the trigger of actin bundling. Requirement of α- and β-catenins for forskolin-induced stabilization of VE-cadherin on the actin bundles was confirmed by FRAP analyses using VEC-GFP mutants, supporting the classical model that α-catenin could potentially link the bundled actin to cadherin. Collectively, circumferential actin bundle formation and subsequent linkage between actin bundles and VE-cadherin through α- and β-catenins are important for the stabilization of VE-cadherin at the cell–cell contacts in cAMP-Epac-Rap1 signal-activated cells.

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