scholarly journals Analysis of cell-cell bridges in Haloferax volcanii using Electron cryo-tomography reveal a continuous cytoplasm and S-layer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamphavi Sivabalasarma ◽  
Hanna Wetzel ◽  
Phillip Nußbaum ◽  
Chris van der Does ◽  
Morgan Beeby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Halophilic Archaea ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Intercellular Bridge ◽  
Helical Structures ◽  
Macromolecular Complexes ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Electron Cryotomography ◽  
Cellular Components ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Cell Cell

Halophilic archaea exchange DNA and proteins using a fusion-based mating mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy previously suggested that mating involves an intermediate state, where cells are connected by an intercellular bridge. To better understand this process, we used electron cryotomography and fluorescence microscopy to visualize cells forming these intercellular bridges. Electron cryo-tomography showed that the observed bridges were enveloped by an S-layer and connected mating cells via a continuous cytoplasm. Macromolecular complexes like ribosomes and unknown thin filamentous helical structures were visualized in the cytoplasm inside the bridges, demonstrating that these bridges can facilitate exchange of cellular components. We followed formation of a cell-cell bridge by fluorescence time-lapse microscopy between cells at a distance of 1.5 µm. These results shed light on the process of haloarchaeal mating and highlight further mechanistic questions.

scholarly journals Analysis of Cell–Cell Bridges in Haloferax volcanii Using Electron Cryo-Tomography Reveal a Continuous Cytoplasm and S-Layer

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamphavi Sivabalasarma ◽  
Hanna Wetzel ◽  
Phillip Nußbaum ◽  
Chris van der Does ◽  
Morgan Beeby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Halophilic Archaea ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Intercellular Bridge ◽  
Helical Structures ◽  
Macromolecular Complexes ◽  
Time Lapse Microscopy ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cellular Components ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Cell Cell

Halophilic archaea have been proposed to exchange DNA and proteins using a fusion-based mating mechanism. Scanning electron microscopy previously suggested that mating involves an intermediate state, where cells are connected by an intercellular bridge. To better understand this process, we used electron cryo-tomography (cryoET) and fluorescence microscopy to visualize cells forming these intercellular bridges. CryoET showed that the observed bridges were enveloped by an surface layer (S-layer) and connected mating cells via a continuous cytoplasm. Macromolecular complexes like ribosomes and unknown thin filamentous helical structures were visualized in the cytoplasm inside the bridges, demonstrating that these bridges can facilitate exchange of cellular components. We followed formation of a cell–cell bridge by fluorescence time-lapse microscopy between cells at a distance of 1.5 μm. These results shed light on the process of haloarchaeal mating and highlight further mechanistic questions.

Ultrastructure of melanocyte-keratinocyte interactions and pigment transfer in vitro

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 650-651
Author(s):  
Raul I. Garcia ◽  
Evelyn A. Flynn ◽  
George Szabo
Keyword(s):  
Direct Injection ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Pigment Granule ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Lanthanum Tracer ◽  
A Cell

Skin pigmentation in mammals involves the interaction of epidermal melanocytes and keratinocytes in the structural and functional unit known as the Epidermal Melanin Unit. Melanocytes(M) synthesize melanin within specialized membrane-bound organelles, the melanosome or pigment granule. These are subsequently transferred by way of M dendrites to keratinocytes(K) by a mechanism still to be clearly defined. Three different, though not necessarily mutually exclusive, mechanisms of melanosome transfer have been proposed: cytophagocytosis by K of M dendrite tips containing melanosomes, direct injection of melanosomes into the K cytoplasm through a cell-to-cell pore or communicating channel formed by localized fusion of M and K cell membranes, release of melanosomes into the extracellular space(ECS) by exocytosis followed by K uptake using conventional phagocytosis. Variability in methods of transfer has been noted both in vivo and in vitro and there is evidence in support of each transfer mechanism. We Have previously studied M-K interactions in vitro using time-lapse cinemicrography and in vivo at the ultrastructural level using lanthanum tracer and freeze-fracture.

scholarly journals Mechanical single-molecule potentiometers with large switching factors from ortho-pentaphenylene foldamers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinshi Li ◽  
Pingchuan Shen ◽  
Shijie Zhen ◽  
Chun Tang ◽  
Yiling Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Charge Transport ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Helical Structures ◽  
Anchoring Groups ◽  
Molecular Conductance ◽  
And Control ◽  
Helical Molecules ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractMolecular potentiometers that can indicate displacement-conductance relationship, and predict and control molecular conductance are of significant importance but rarely developed. Herein, single-molecule potentiometers are designed based on ortho-pentaphenylene. The ortho-pentaphenylene derivatives with anchoring groups adopt multiple folded conformers and undergo conformational interconversion in solutions. Solvent-sensitive multiple conductance originating from different conformers is recorded by scanning tunneling microscopy break junction technique. These pseudo-elastic folded molecules can be stretched and compressed by mechanical force along with a variable conductance by up to two orders of magnitude, providing an impressively higher switching factor (114) than the reported values (ca. 1~25). The multichannel conductance governed by through-space and through-bond conducting pathways is rationalized as the charge transport mechanism for the folded ortho-pentaphenylene derivatives. These findings shed light on exploring robust single-molecule potentiometers based on helical structures, and are conducive to fundamental understanding of charge transport in higher-order helical molecules.

Tracings of Behavior of Myoblasts Cultured Under Couette Type of Shear Flow Between Parallel Disks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigehiro Hashimoto ◽  
Hiroki Yonezawa
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Shear Flow ◽  
Rotating Disk ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Parallel Disks ◽  
Before And After ◽  
A Cell

Abstract A cell deforms and migrates on the scaffold under mechanical stimuli in vivo. In this study, a cell with division during shear stress stimulation has been observed in vitro. Before and after division, both migration and deformation of each cell were analyzed. To make a Couette-type shear flow, the medium was sandwiched between parallel disks (the lower stationary culture-disc and the upper rotating disk) with a constant gap. The wall shear stress (1.5 Pa < τ < 2 Pa) on the surface of the lower culture plate was controlled by the rotational speed of the upper disc. Myoblasts (C2C12: mouse myoblast cell line) were used in the test. After cultivation without flow for 24 hours for adhesion of the cells to the lower disk, constant τ was applied to the cells in the incubator for 7 days. The behavior of each cell during shear was tracked by time-lapse images observed by an inverted phase contrast microscope placed in the incubator. Experimental results show that each cell tends to divide after higher activities: deformation and migration. The tendency is remarkable at the shear stress of 1.5 Pa.

scholarly journals CellNetVis: a web tool for visualization of biological networks using force-directed layout constrained by cellular components

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Heberle ◽  
Marcelo Falsarella Carazzolle ◽  
Guilherme P. Telles ◽  
Gabriela Vaz Meirelles ◽  
Rosane Minghim
Keyword(s):  
Biological Networks ◽  
Visual Exploration ◽  
Web Tool ◽  
Biomolecular Interaction ◽  
Dense Networks ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Visualization Of Data ◽  
Cellular Compartments ◽  
Cellular Components ◽  
Dynamic Investigation

AbstractBackgroundThe advent of “omics” science has brought new perspectives in contemporary biology through the high-throughput analyses of molecular interactions, providing new clues in protein/gene function and in the organization of biological pathways. Biomolecular interaction networks, or graphs, are simple abstract representations where the components of a cell (e.g. proteins, metabolites etc.) are represented by nodes and their interactions are represented by edges. An appropriate visualization of data is crucial for understanding such networks, since pathways are related to functions that occur in specific regions of the cell. The force-directed layout is an important and widely used technique to draw networks according to their topologies. Placing the networks into cellular compartments helps to quickly identify where network elements are located and, more specifically, concentrated. Currently, only a few tools provide the capability of visually organizing networks by cellular compartments. Most of them cannot handle large and dense networks. Even for small networks with hundreds of nodes the available tools are not able to reposition the network while the user is interacting, limiting the visual exploration capability.ResultsHere we propose CellNetVis, a web tool to easily display biological networks in a cell diagram employing a constrained force-directed layout algorithm. The tool is freely available and open-source. It was originally designed for networks generated by the Integrated Interactome System and can be used with networks from others databases, like InnateDB.ConclusionsCellNetVis has demonstrated to be applicable for dynamic investigation of complex networks over a consistent representation of a cell on the Web, with capabilities not matched elsewhere.

scholarly journals Asymmetric adhesion of rod-shaped bacteria controls microcolony morphogenesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duvernoy Marie-Cécilia ◽  
Mora Thierry ◽  
Ardré Maxime ◽  
Croquette Vincent ◽  
Bensimon David ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Adhesion ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Adhesion Forces ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Cell Contacts ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Daughter Cells ◽  
Substrate Adhesion ◽  
Asymmetrically Distributed ◽  
Cell Cell

Bacterial biofilms are spatially structured communities, within which bacteria can differentiate depending on environmental conditions. During biofilm formation, bacteria attach to a surface and use cell-cell contacts to convey the signals required for the coordination of biofilm morphogenesis. How bacteria can maintain both substrate adhesions and cell-cell contacts during the expansion of a microcolony is still a critical yet poorly understood phenomenon. Here, we describe the development of time-resolved methods to measure substrate adhesion at the single cell level during the formation of E. coli and P. aeruginosa microcolonies. We show that bacterial adhesion is asymmetrically distributed along the cell body. Higher adhesion forces at old poles put the daughter cells under tension and force them to slide along each other. These rearrangements increase cell-cell contacts and the circularity of the colony. We propose a mechanical model based on the microscopic details of adhesive links, which recapitulates microcolony morphogenesis and quantitatively predicts bacterial adhesion from simple time lapse movies. These results explain how the distribution of adhesion forces at the subcellular level directs the shape of bacterial colonies, which ultimately dictates the circulation of secreted signals.

scholarly journals Ephrin-B3 controls excitatory synapse density through cell-cell competition for EphBs

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan T Henderson ◽  
Sylvain J Le Marchand ◽  
Martin Hruska ◽  
Simon Hippenmeyer ◽  
Liqun Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Spine Density ◽  
Cell Competition ◽  
Intrinsic Factors ◽  
Genetic Mouse Model ◽  
Synapse Density ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Cell Cell

Cortical networks are characterized by sparse connectivity, with synapses found at only a subset of axo-dendritic contacts. Yet within these networks, neurons can exhibit high connection probabilities, suggesting that cell-intrinsic factors, not proximity, determine connectivity. Here, we identify ephrin-B3 (eB3) as a factor that determines synapse density by mediating a cell-cell competition that requires ephrin-B-EphB signaling. In a microisland culture system designed to isolate cell-cell competition, we find that eB3 determines winning and losing neurons in a contest for synapses. In a Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers (MADM) genetic mouse model system in vivo the relative levels of eB3 control spine density in layer 5 and 6 neurons. MADM cortical neurons in vitro reveal that eB3 controls synapse density independently of action potential-driven activity. Our findings illustrate a new class of competitive mechanism mediated by trans-synaptic organizing proteins which control the number of synapses neurons receive relative to neighboring neurons.

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