Monospecific Antibody against 5-Methyl-Cytidine for the Structural Analysis of Nucleic Acids

1982 ◽  
Vol 37 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 399-404
Author(s):  
Sofia K. Mastronicolis ◽  
Vassilios M. Kapoulas ◽  
Hans Kröger
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Density Gradient ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Density Gradient Ultracentrifugation ◽  
Disk Electrophoresis ◽  
Detection And Localization ◽  
Hydrolysis Of ◽  
Gel Diffusion ◽  
Drop Technique

Abstract Anti 5-methyl-cytidine antibodies might be useful agents for the detection and localization of 5-methyl-cytidine of nucleic acids, but only if the antibodies recognize this nucleoside with sufficient specificity. A conjugate containing 18 moles of 5-methyl-cytidine per mole of BSA was prepared and antibodies directed against this nucleoside hapten were produced by immunization of rabbits (as determined by gel diffusion in agar containing excessive amounts of the carrier). A slight crossreaction of cytidine-BSA was eliminated by adsorption on the cross-reacting antigen. Further purification of the antibodies was effected by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and a method for the rapid quantitation of the antibodies showed that 12.7% of the IgG protein are monospecific against 5-methyl-cytidine-BSA. Hydrolysis of antibodies with insolubilized pa­pain produced monovalent Fab fragments which were identified by SDS-Disk-electrophoresis. A two stage method for cross linking the immunoproteins to ferritin by glutaraldehyde was used. The isolation of immunoferritin conjugates by Bio-Gel A 1.5 m column chromatography is described. The identification of the effluents was made by glycerin density gradient ultracentrifugation. The results were visualized by electron microscopy after the treatment of immunoferritin conjugates with (methylated and unmethylated) denaturated DNA, fractionation on the glycerine density gradient, and the spreading by a modification of drop technique.

Embedding Procedure for Water Swollen Samples

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 504-505
Author(s):  
Ann M. Thomas ◽  
Virginia Shemeley
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Ion Exchange Resins ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
First Pass ◽  
Exchange Resins

Those samples which swell rapidly when exposed to water are, at best, difficult to section for transmission electron microscopy. Some materials literally burst out of the embedding block with the first pass by the knife, and even the most rapid cutting cycle produces sections of limited value. Many ion exchange resins swell in water; some undergo irreversible structural changes when dried. We developed our embedding procedure to handle this type of sample, but it should be applicable to many materials that present similar sectioning difficulties.The purpose of our embedding procedure is to build up a cross-linking network throughout the sample, while it is in a water swollen state. Our procedure was suggested to us by the work of Rosenberg, where he mentioned the formation of a tridimensional structure by the polymerization of the GMA biproduct, triglycol dimethacrylate.

Uranyl Acetate and Rotary Shadowing to Increase the Contrast of Small Aggregated Virus Particles

1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 424-425
Author(s):  
Lee F. Ellis ◽  
Richard M. Van Frank ◽  
Walter J. Kleinschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Density Gradient ◽  
Density Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Gradient Centrifugation ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Interferon Inducer ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Staining Methods ◽  
Rotary Shadowing

The extract from Penicillum stoliniferum, known as statolon, has been purified by density gradient centrifugation. These centrifuge fractions contained virus particles that are an interferon inducer in mice or in tissue culture. Highly purified preparations of these particles are difficult to enumerate by electron microscopy because of aggregation. Therefore a study of staining methods was undertaken.

Electron Microscopy of Nucleic Acids

1974 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 302-303
Author(s):  
Norman Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Basic Protein ◽  
Molecular Biologist ◽  
Topological Properties ◽  
Protein Film ◽  
Polynucleotide Chain

The basic protein film technique for mounting nucleic acids for electron microscopy has proven to be a general and powerful tool for the working molecular biologist in characterizing different nucleic acids. It i s possible to measure molecular lengths of duplex and single-stranded DNAs and RNAs. In particular, it is thus possible to as certain whether or not the nucleic acids extracted from a particular source are or are not homogeneous in length. The topological properties of the polynucleotide chain (linear or circular, relaxed or supercoiled circles, interlocked circles, etc. ) can also be as certained.

Lattice imaging and pore structure of β ferric oxyhydroxide

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-265
Author(s):  
T. Baird ◽  
J.R. Fryer ◽  
S.T. Galbraith
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Bulk Material ◽  
Model Structure ◽  
Bulk Crystals ◽  
Lattice Imaging ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Ferric Oxyhydroxide ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

Introduction Previously we had suggested (l) that the striations observed in the pod shaped crystals of β FeOOH were an artefact of imaging in the electron microscope. Contrary to this adsorption measurements on bulk material had indicated the presence of some porosity and Gallagher (2) had proposed a model structure - based on the hollandite structure - showing the hollandite rods forming the sides of 30Å pores running the length of the crystal. Low resolution electron microscopy by Watson (3) on sectioned crystals embedded in methylmethacrylate had tended to support the existence of such pores.We have applied modern high resolution techniques to the bulk crystals and thin sections of them without confirming these earlier postulatesExperimental β FeOOH was prepared by room temperature hydrolysis of 0.01M solutions of FeCl3.6H2O, The precipitate was washed, dried in air, and embedded in Scandiplast resin. The sections were out on an LKB III Ultramicrotome to a thickness of about 500Å.

The Current Situation in Chemical Stabilization of Biological Materials

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 132-133
Author(s):  
John H. Luft
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Chemical Stabilization ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Sufficient Condition ◽  
Radio Telescopes

With information processing devices such as radio telescopes, microscopes or hi-fi systems, the quality of the output often is limited by distortion or noise introduced at the input stage of the device. This analogy can be extended usefully to specimen preparation for the electron microscope; fixation, which initiates the processing sequence, is the single most important step and, unfortunately, is the least well understood. Although there is an abundance of fixation mixtures recommended in the light microscopy literature, osmium tetroxide and glutaraldehyde are favored for electron microscopy. These fixatives react vigorously with proteins at the molecular level. There is clear evidence for the cross-linking of proteins both by osmium tetroxide and glutaraldehyde and cross-linking may be a necessary if not sufficient condition to define fixatives as a class.

mRNA localization by Electron microscopic in situ hybridization

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 430-431
Author(s):  
J. A. Pollock ◽  
M. Martone ◽  
T. Deerinck ◽  
M. H. Ellisman
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Recombinant Dna ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
High Voltage Electron Microscopy ◽  
Functional Sites ◽  
Voltage Electron

Localization of specific proteins in cells by both light and electron microscopy has been facilitate by the availability of antibodies that recognize unique features of these proteins. High resolution localization studies conducted over the last 25 years have allowed biologists to study the synthesis, translocation and ultimate functional sites for many important classes of proteins. Recently, recombinant DNA techniques in molecular biology have allowed the production of specific probes for localization of nucleic acids by “in situ” hybridization. The availability of these probes potentially opens a new set of questions to experimental investigation regarding the subcellular distribution of specific DNA's and RNA's. Nucleic acids have a much lower “copy number” per cell than a typical protein, ranging from one copy to perhaps several thousand. Therefore, sensitive, high resolution techniques are required. There are several reasons why Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscopy (IVEM) and High Voltage Electron Microscopy (HVEM) are most useful for localization of nucleic acids in situ.

Nucleic Acid Molecules Prepared by Monolayer Techniques

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 178-179
Author(s):  
Dimitrij Lang
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Contour Length ◽  
Sample Standard Deviation ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Length Measurements ◽  
Protein Monolayer

The success of the protein monolayer technique for electron microscopy of individual DNA molecules is based on the prevention of aggregation and orientation of the molecules during drying on specimen grids. DNA adsorbs first to a surface-denatured, insoluble cytochrome c monolayer which is then transferred to grids, without major distortion, by touching. Fig. 1 shows three basic procedures which, modified or not, permit the study of various important properties of nucleic acids, either in concert with other methods or exclusively:1) Molecular weights relative to DNA standards as well as number distributions of molecular weights can be obtained from contour length measurements with a sample standard deviation between 1 and 4%.

Ultrastructural analysis of the spatial distribution of MRNA

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 552-553
Author(s):  
Gary Bassell ◽  
Robert H. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
In Situ Hybridization ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Colloidal Gold ◽  
Dna Probe ◽  
Nucleotide Analogs ◽  
Gold Particles

We have been investigating the spatial distribution of nucleic acids intracellularly using in situ hybridization. The use of non-isotopic nucleotide analogs incorporated into the DNA probe allows the detection of the probe at its site of hybridization within the cell. This approach therefore is compatible with the high resolution available by electron microscopy. Biotinated or digoxigenated probe can be detected by antibodies conjugated to colloidal gold. Because mRNA serves as a template for the probe fragments, the colloidal gold particles are detected as arrays which allow it to be unequivocally distinguished from background.

CRYO-Electron Microscopy of the Acto-Myosin-ATP Complex

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 248-249
Author(s):  
John Trinickt ◽  
Howard White
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Atp Hydrolysis ◽  
Myosin Head ◽  
Bound State ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Weakly Bound ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Myosin Subfragment 1 ◽  
Attached State ◽  
High Fraction

The primary force of muscle contraction is thought to involve a change in the myosin head whilst attached to actin, the energy coming from ATP hydrolysis. This change in attached state could either be a conformational change in the head or an alteration in the binding angle made with actin. A considerable amount is known about one bound state, the so-called strongly attached state, which occurs in the presence of ADP or in the absence of nucleotide. In this state, which probably corresponds to the last attached state of the force-producing cycle, the angle between the long axis myosin head and the actin filament is roughly 45°. Details of other attached states before and during power production have been difficult to obtain because, even at very high protein concentration, the complex is almost completely dissociated by ATP. Electron micrographs of the complex in the presence of ATP have therefore been obtained only after chemically cross-linking myosin subfragment-1 (S1) to actin filaments to prevent dissociation. But it is unclear then whether the variability in attachment angle observed is due merely to the cross-link acting as a hinge.We have recently found low ionic-strength conditions under which, without resorting to cross-linking, a high fraction of S1 is bound to actin during steady state ATP hydrolysis. The structure of this complex is being studied by cryo-electron microscopy of hydrated specimens. Most advantages of frozen specimens over ambient temperature methods such as negative staining have already been documented. These include improved preservation and fixation rates and the ability to observe protein directly rather than a surrounding stain envelope. In the present experiments, hydrated specimens have the additional benefit that it is feasible to use protein concentrations roughly two orders of magnitude higher than in conventional specimens, thereby reducing dissociation of weakly bound complexes.

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