scholarly journals Optimization of protocols for pre-embedding immunogold electron microscopy of neurons in cell cultures and brains

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hwa Tao-Cheng ◽  
Virginia Crocker ◽  
Sandra Lara Moreira ◽  
Rita Azzam
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Cultures ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Immunogold Electron Microscopy ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Optimal Protocol ◽  
Small Gold Particle ◽  
Specific Proteins ◽  
Secondary Antibodies

AbstractImmunogold labeling allows localization of proteins at the electron microscopy (EM) level of resolution, and quantification of signals. The present paper summarizes methodological issues and experiences gained from studies on the distribution of synaptic and other neuron-specific proteins in cell cultures and brain tissues via a pre-embedding method. An optimal protocol includes careful determination of a fixation condition for any particular antibody, a well-planned tissue processing procedure, and a strict evaluation of the credibility of the labeling. Here, tips and caveats on different steps of the sample preparation protocol are illustrated with examples. A good starting condition for EM-compatible fixation and permeabilization is 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min at room temperature, followed by 30 min incubation with 0.1% saponin. An optimal condition can then be readjusted for each particular antibody. Each lot of the secondary antibody (conjugated with a 1.4 nm small gold particle) needs to be evaluated against known standards for labeling efficiency. Silver enhancement is required to make the small gold visible, and quality of the silver-enhanced signals can be affected by subsequent steps of osmium tetroxide treatment, uranyl acetate en bloc staining, and by detergent or ethanol used to clean the diamond knife for cutting thin sections. Most importantly, verification of signals requires understanding of the protein of interest in order to validate for correct localization of antibodies at expected epitopes on particular organelles, and quantification of signals needs to take into consideration the penetration gradient of reagents and clumping of secondary antibodies.

scholarly journals Optimization of Protocols for Pre-Embedding Immunogold Electron Microscopy of Neurons in Cell Cultures and Brains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hwa Tao-Cheng ◽  
Virginia Crocker ◽  
Sandra Lara Moreira ◽  
Rita Azzam
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Cultures ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Immunogold Electron Microscopy ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Optimal Protocol ◽  
Small Gold Particle ◽  
Specific Proteins ◽  
Secondary Antibodies

Abstract Immunogold labeling allows localization of proteins at the electron microscopy (EM) level of resolution, and quantification of signals. The present paper summarizes methodological issues and experiences gained from studies on the distribution of synaptic and other neuron-specific proteins in cell cultures and brain tissues via a pre-embedding method. An optimal protocol includes careful determination of a fixation condition for any particular antibody, a well-planned tissue processing procedure, and a strict evaluation of the credibility of the labeling. Here, tips and caveats on different steps of the sample preparation protocol are illustrated with examples. A good starting condition for EM-compatible fixation and permeabilization is 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 30 min at room temperature, followed by 30 min incubation with 0.1% saponin. An optimal condition can then be readjusted for each particular antibody. Each lot of the secondary antibody (conjugated with a 1.4 nm small gold particle) needs to be evaluated against known standards for labeling efficiency. Silver enhancement is required to make the small gold visible, and quality of the silver-enhanced signals can be affected by subsequent steps of osmium tetroxide treatment, uranyl acetate en bloc staining, and by detergent or ethanol used to clean the diamond knife for cutting thin sections. Most importantly, verification of signals requires understanding of the protein of interest in order to validate for correct localization of antibodies at expected epitopes on particular organelles, and quantification of signals needs to take into consideration the penetration gradient of reagents and clumping of secondary antibodies.

Electron Microscopy as an aid to diagnosis in pediatric hematology/oncology

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 1062-1063
Author(s):  
K. L. Saving ◽  
R. C. Caughey
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Phosphate Buffer ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Megakaryoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Pediatric Hematology ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Microscopy Techniques

This presentation is designed to demonstrate how scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques can be utilized to confirm or support a variety of unusual pediatric hematologic/oncologic disorders. Patients with the following diagnoses will be presented: (1) hereditary pyropoikilocytosis, (2) familial erythrophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, (3) acute megakaryoblastic leukemia, and (4) pseudo-von Willebrand’s disease.All transmission and scanning electron microscopy samples were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde, rinsed in Millonig’s phosphate buffer, and post-fixed with 1% osmium tetroxide. The transmission samples were then en bloc stained with 0.5% uranyl acetate, rinsed with Walpole ’ s non-phosphate buffer, dehydrated with graded series of ethanols and embedded with Epon 812 epoxy resin. Ultramicrotomy thin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and scanned using a JEOL-JEM 100C, The scanning samples were dehydrated with graded series of ethanols, critical point dried with CO2, gold-coated, and scanned using a JEOL-JSM 35. The peroxidase samples were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde, incubated in diaminobenzidine (DAB), dehydrated with ethanol, embedded with Epon 812, and scanned without post-staining using a JEOL-JEM 100C.

Platinum Compounds as Stains for Electron Microscopy

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 230-231
Author(s):  
S. K. Aggarwal ◽  
P. McAllister ◽  
R. W. Wagner ◽  
B. Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Hela Cells ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Sarcoma 180 ◽  
Platinum Compounds ◽  
Kb Cells ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Human Lymphoma ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
Blue Coloration

Uranyl acetate has been used as an electron stain for en bloc staining as well as for staining ultrathin sections in conjunction with various lead stains (Fig. 1). Present studies reveal that various platinum compounds also show promise as electron stains. Certain platinum compounds have been shown to be effective anti-tumor agents. Of particular interest are the compounds with either uracil or thymine as one of the ligands (cis-Pt(II)-uracil; cis-Pt(II)-thymine). These compounds are amorphous, highly soluble in water and often exhibit an intense blue coloration. These compounds show enough electron density to be used as stains for electron microscopy. Most of the studies are based on various cell lines (human AV, cells, human lymphoma cells, KB cells, Sarcoma-180 ascites cells, chick fibroblasts and HeLa cells) while studies on tissue blocks are in progress.

Lead aspartate: a new en bloc stain for electron microscopy

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
J.R. Walton
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Calcium Ion ◽  
Enzyme Reaction ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Lead Salts ◽  
Thin Sectioning ◽  
High Alkalinity

In electron microscopy, lead is the metal most widely used for enhancing specimen contrast. Lead citrate requires a pH of 12 to stain thin sections of epoxy-embedded material rapidly and intensively. However, this high alkalinity tends to leach out enzyme reaction products, making lead citrate unsuitable for many cytochemical studies. Substitution of the chelator aspartate for citrate allows staining to be carried out at pH 6 or 7 without apparent effect on cytochemical products. Moreover, due to the low, controlled level of free lead ions, contamination-free staining can be carried out en bloc, prior to dehydration and embedding. En bloc use of lead aspartate permits the grid-staining step to be bypassed, allowing samples to be examined immediately after thin-sectioning.Procedures. To prevent precipitation of lead salts, double- or glass-distilled H20 used in the stain and rinses should be boiled to drive off carbon dioxide and glassware should be carefully rinsed to remove any persisting traces of calcium ion.

scholarly journals Immunoelectron microscopic localization of alpha-actinin on Lowicryl-embedded thin-sectioned tissues.

1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 515-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
L F Lemanski ◽  
D J Paulson ◽  
C S Hill ◽  
L A Davis ◽  
L C Riles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Smooth Muscle Tissue ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Microscopic Localization ◽  
Cell Architecture ◽  
Nonmuscle Cells ◽  
Staining Techniques ◽  
Lowicryl K4m

A procedure has been developed for the immunoelectron microscopic localization of intracellular antigens on thin-sectioned tissues. The tissues were fixed in a periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde solution or a formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde combination and embedded in the acrylate-methacrylate mixture, Lowicryl K4M (Polaron), which was polymerized under ultraviolet irradiation at -35 degrees C. Thin sections were mounted on gold grids, immunostained using an indirect method with ferritin-labeled antibodies, and, optionally, counterstained with osmium tetroxide and/or lead citrate and uranyl acetate. The procedure provided good morphologic preservation of the cell architecture in adult and embryonic heart, and skeletal and smooth muscle tissue, as well as nonmuscle cells. At the same time it retained the antigenicities of several contractile proteins, including myosin, tropomyosin, actin, and alpha-actinin. The method has advantages over en bloc staining techniques in that the problem of antibody penetration into the cells is eliminated and careful controls can be performed on adjacent sections. This technique will be useful for localizing, at the ultrastructural level, contractile and other selected proteins in a variety of muscle and non-muscle cells. Details of the new protocol and a description of the results of using antibody against the contractile protein, alpha-actinin, are given.

scholarly journals Quantitative immunocytochemical analysis of the induction of cytochrome P450IIB in rat hepatocytes.

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Fukui ◽  
A Yamamoto ◽  
R Masaki ◽  
K Miyauchi ◽  
Y Tashiro
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Particle Density ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Liver Microsomes ◽  
Rat Hepatocytes ◽  
Immunoblot Analysis ◽  
Immunogold Electron Microscopy ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Rough Er

We examined whether induction of the phenobarbital (PB)-inducible form of cytochrome P450 (P450IIB) in rat hepatocytes could be analyzed quantitatively by immunogold electron microscopy. Rats received intraperitoneal injections of PB every 24 hr and livers at the various stages of PB induction were fixed by perfusion with a mixture of paraformaldehyde (4%) and glutaraldehyde (0.1%) and embedded in LR White. Ultra-thin sections were cut and labeled by the protein A-gold procedure using affinity-purified anti-P450IIB antibody which was previously immunoabsorbed with liver microsomes from a control rat (not treated with PB). We counted the number of gold particles per micron of the rough ER membranes (particle density). Before PB treatment, the particle density of the rough ER in rat hepatocytes was practically zero and increased markedly at 48 and 72 hr after PB treatment. The rough microsomes were prepared from these PB-treated rat livers. The amount of P450IIB was estimated by immunoblot analysis and the number of gold particles bound to the rough microsomal membrane was determined by the same post-embedding immunogold procedure. The particle density of the rough microsomes increased in parallel with the increase in the amount of P450IIB, indicating good correlation of the two variables. Thus, the induction of cytochrome P450IIB can be quantitatively and reliably investigated by immunogold electron microscopy.

Ultrahistochemical Analysis of the Chick Embryo Cornea Using A Non-Dispersive X-Ray Detector

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 404-405
Author(s):  
T. Ohkura ◽  
M. Takashio ◽  
T. Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Chick Embryo ◽  
Alcian Blue ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Glutaraldehyde Solution ◽  
Tissue Specimens

The experiments which we report here were performed to show qualitatively the presence or abscence of Cu in the mesostroma of the chick embryo cornea stained with alcian blue 8GS. Strips of the cornea were fixed in a buffered glutaraldehyde solution (2.5%, pH 7.4) and coloured with alcian blue 8GS at pH 2.5. Tissue specimens were postosmicated, dehydrated and embedded in Epon. Tissue blocks for the conventional transmission electron microscopy were prepared without alcian blue treatment, and the thin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and/or lead citrate. Fig. la shows the mesostroma of 3rd day chick embryo cornea; filaments run in various directions, and reveal no visible periodicity. Interfibrillar substances can not be demonstrated by the conventional method of the electron staining. The alcian blue treatment reveals the interfibrillar substances, which stand out in contrast as shown in Fig. lb.

Uranyl acetate staining under different conditions of preparation, storage and use

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 726-727
Author(s):  
R.H.M. Cross ◽  
A.N. Hodgson ◽  
R.T.F. Bernard
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Biological Tissue ◽  
Storage Time ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Standard Methods ◽  
Gut Epithelium ◽  
Transmission Electron

Uranyl acetate is routinely used in the staining of thin sections of biological tissue for transmission electron microscopy. Although many methods for its preparation and use have been described, there is seldom reference to the reasons for variations in concentration, solvent, storage time and staining time. Likewise, possible variations in the effects of staining under different conditions are largely ignored. In order to gain clarity on this issue an attempt has been made to test three variables (solvent, storage time and use in light or dark) under controlled experimental conditions.The tissues used for the experiment were the testis of a marine limpet, the gut epithelium of a fresh-water catfish, and the kidney of a rat; all of which were fixed and embedded by standard methods. The uranyl acetate solutions were prepared at the outset of the experiment and dispensed into small volumes and stored in the dark at 4°C until required.

Ultrastructure of E. coli: An in vitro study of cells cultured in the presence of four gastrointestinal (GI) hormones

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-629
Author(s):  
Leo J. Henz ◽  
Frank E. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Changes ◽  
In Vitro Study ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Culture Collection ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cacodylate Buffer ◽  
Synthetic Hormones

Hormones are found in exocrine secretions entering the gut. They alter the morphology of many eukaryotic cells; whether they affect the morphology of enteric flora is unknown. In this study, we examined the ultrastructure of E. coli, a common bacterium in the mammalian gut, for morphological changes resulting from exposure to GI hormones.E. coli (#11775 from American Type Culture Collection) were grown in protease-free trypticase soy broth (TSB) at 37°C for 18 hr to a concentration of 2 x 107 cells/ml. Pure synthetic hormones were used: sulfated C-terminal cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK), pentagastrin (PG), cyclic somatostatin tetradecapeptide (SS), or the porcine form of secretin (SEC). These were individually added to. bacterial cultures in TSB to make 1 x 107 organisms/ml and 0.0, 0.5, 2.5, or 5.0 μg of hormone/ml, then incubated for 30 min at 37°C. The cultures were rapidly chilled and added to equal volumes of cold 6% glutaraldehyde in 0.2 M cacodylate buffer. After 30 min, the bacteria were concentrated by centrifugation (15 min at 4000 RPM) and the pellets suspended in cold 3% glutaraldehyde for an additional 15 min, followed by centrifugation. The pellets were resuspended in cold cacodylate buffer and stored at 2°C for 1-7 d. The cells were again centrifuged and the pellets were blotted with a strip of filter paper to remove excess fluid, then mixed with a drop of warm 2% agar. The agar suspensions were pipetted into cold saline. The resulting solidified extrusions were cut by hand into 2 mm segments for further processing in 1% OsO4 (with or without en bloc staining in 2% uranyl acetate (UA) in ethanol). Following dehydration in ethanol, rinsing in propylene oxide, and encapsulation in Epon-Araldite, thin sections were examined and photographed with a JEOL-100C microscope.

EM Study of Isopod Hemocytes

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1138-1139
Author(s):  
G. M. Vernon ◽  
E. J. Rappa ◽  
W. C. Murray ◽  
R. Witkus
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Standard Technique ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Small Granule ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Cytoplasmic Granules ◽  
Transmission Electron

Crustacean hemocytes have been characterized on the basis of cell size and nature of cytoplasmic granules. Based on light microscopic morphological analysis and cytochemistry, investigators variously named the hemocyte types (agranular, small-granule, large granule, undifferentiated, hyaline cells, non-explosive, explosive granulocytes, etc.). In his study of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare Faso adopted the terminology of Benjamin and James and referred to the hemocytes as hyaline cells, semi-granulocytes and granulocytes.In the present investigation we have studied the hemocytes of two isopods, Oniscus asellus and Armadillidium nasatum, using transmission electron microscopy. Hemolymph was collected by penetrating the posterior dorsal exoskeleton of 20 animals of each genus with a microcapillary pipette and drawing 3-5μL per isopod. The samples were processed following a standard technique. Thin sections were collected on 300 mesh copper grids, counterstained with 2% aqueous uranyl acetate and lead citrate, and viewed with a JEOL 1010 electron microscope.

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