Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G Griffiths

Publications and source records attributed to G Griffiths.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Density of newly synthesized plasma membrane proteins in intracellular membranes II. Biochemical studies.

Using two independent methods, incorporation of radioactive amino-acid and quantitative immunoblotting, we have determined that the rate of synthesis of each of the Semliki Forest virus (SFV) proteins in infected baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells is 1.2 X 10(5) copies/cell/min. Given the absolute surface areas of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex presented in the companion paper (Griffiths, G., G. Warren, P. Quinn , O. Mathieu - Costello , and A. Hoppeler , 1984, J. Cell Biol. 98:2133-2141), and the approximate time spent in these organelles during their passage to the plasma membrane (Green J., G. Griffiths, D. Louvard , P. Quinn , and G. Warren 1981, J. Mol. Biol. 152:663-698), the mean density of each viral protein in these organelles can be calculated to be 90 and 750 molecules/micron 2 membrane, respectively. In contrast, we have determined that the density of total endogenous integral membrane proteins in these organelles is approximately 30,000 molecules/micron 2 so that the spike proteins constitute only 0.28 and 2.3% of total membrane protein in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi, respectively. Quantitative immunoblotting was used to give direct estimates of the concentrations of one of the viral membrane protein precursors (E1) in subcellular fractions; these agreed closely with the calculated values. The data are discussed with respect to the sorting of transported proteins from those endogenous to the intracellular membranes.

Animals↗

Reproducibility of an index for recording the alignment of individual teeth.

In order that relationships between dental irregularities and the caries and periodontal status of individual teeth can be examined, the STRAIT index (standardized technique for recording the alignment of individual teeth) was developed. Tooth position scores representing vertical relationship, rotation, mesio-distal inclination, displacement and radial relationship are recorded using three- or five-category scales. Contact point scores representing bucco-lingual and mesio-distal relationships are measured directly. These characteristics are recorded for each tooth in the dentition, together with overjet and overbite measures for maxillary incisors and canines. Repeat measurement of 50 sets of models was undertaken by two examiners in order to assess intra-and interreproducibility of the index. A formula for adjusted agreement was employed for analysis of the categorized variables, and reproducibility was typically 80 per cent or better. Analysis of the reproducibility of the continuous variables was based on calculation of root mean square values of the difference between data sets and t-tests. In the main, intra- and interreproducibility was within 0.5 mm. These levels of accuracy meet the requirements of the index and it has since been used in an investigation of 1000 subjects.

Dental Arch↗

Dissection of the Golgi complex. I. Monensin inhibits the transport of viral membrane proteins from medial to trans Golgi cisternae in baby hamster kidney cells infected with Semliki Forest virus.

Baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells were infected with Semliki Forest virus (SFV) and, 2 h later, were treated for 4 h with 10 microM monensin. Each of the four to six flattened cisternae in the Golgi stack became swollen and separated from the others. Intracellular transport of the viral membrane proteins was almost completely inhibited, but their synthesis continued and they accumulated in the swollen Golgi cisternae before the monensin block. In consequence, these cisternae bound large numbers of viral nucleocapsids and were easily distinguished from other swollen cisternae such as those after the block. These intracellular capsid-binding membranes (ICBMs) were not stained by cytochemical markers for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (glucose-6-phosphatase) or trans Golgi cisternae (thiamine pyrophosphatase, acid phosphatase) but were labeled by Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA) in thin, frozen sections. Since this lectin labels only Golgi cisternae in the middle and on the trans side of the stack (Griffiths, G., R. Brands, B. Burke, D. Louvard, and G. Warren, 1982, J. Cell Biol., 95:781-792), we conclude that ICBMs are derived from Golgi cisternae in the middle of the stack, which we term medial cisternae. The overall movement of viral membrane proteins appears to be from cis to trans Golgi cisternae (see reference above), so monensin would block movement from medial to the trans cisternae. It also blocked the trimming of the high-mannose oligosaccharides bound to the viral membrane proteins and their conversion to complex oligosaccharides. These functions presumably reside in trans Golgi cisternae. This is supported by data in the accompanying paper, in which we also show that fatty acids are covalently attached to the viral membrane proteins in the cis or medial cisternae. We suggest that the Golgi stack can be divided into three functionally distinct compartments, each comprising one or two cisternae. The viral membrane proteins, after leaving the ER, would all pass in sequence from the cis to the medial to the trans compartment.

Animals↗

Dissection of the Golgi complex. II. Density separation of specific Golgi functions in virally infected cells treated with monensin.

In the accompanying paper (Griffiths, G., P. Quinn, and G. Warren, 1983, J. Cell Biol., 96:835-850), we suggested that the Golgi stack could be divided into functionally distinct cis, medial, and trans compartments, each comprising one or two adjacent cisternae. These compartments were identified using Baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells infected with Semliki Forest virus (SFV) and treated with monensin. This drug blocked intracellular transport but not synthesis of the viral membrane proteins that were shown to accumulate in the medial cisternae. In consequence, these cisternae bound nucleocapsids. Here we show that this binding markedly increased the density of the medial cisternae and allowed us to separate them from cis and trans Golgi cisternae. A number of criteria were used to show that the intracellular capsid-binding membranes (ICBMs) observed in vivo were the same as those membranes sedimenting to a higher density in sucrose gradients in vitro, and this separation of cisternae was then used to investigate the distribution, within the Golgi stack, of some specific Golgi functions. After labeling for 2.5 min with [3H]palmitate, most of the fatty acid attached to viral membrane proteins was found in the ICBM fraction. Because the viral membrane proteins appear to move from cis to trans, this suggests that fatty acylation occurs in the cis or medial Golgi cisternae. In contrast, the distribution of alpha 1-2-mannosidase, an enzyme involved in trimming high-mannose oligosaccharides, and of galactosyl transferase, which is involved in the construction of complex oligosaccharides, was not affected by monensin treatment. Together with data in the accompanying paper, this would restrict these two Golgi functions to the trans cisternae. Our data strongly support the view that Golgi functions have specific and discrete locations within the Golgi stack.

Animals↗

Newly synthesized G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus is not transported to the cell surface during mitosis.

Indirect immunofluorescence, immunoelectron microscopy, and digestion by protease were used to study intracellular transport of the G protein of vesicular stomatitis virus in mitotic and interphase cells. Quantitation showed that the appearance of G protein on the surface of mitotic cells was inhibited at least 10-fold when compared with that on interphase cells, even though similar amounts of viral protein were being synthesized. This dramatic inhibition, taken together with the simultaneous inhibition of endocytosis (Berlin, R. D., and J. M. Oliver, 1980, J. Cell Biol. 85: 660-671), points to a general cessation of membrane traffic in the mitotic cell.

Animals↗

Viral glycoproteins at different stages of intracellular transport can be distinguished using monoclonal antibodies.

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against Semliki Forest virus (SFV) and all were found to recognize the E2 spike glycoprotein. The hybridomas were screened by immunofluorescence microscopy of infected cells to look for antibodies recognizing E2 at different stages of intracellular transport and two (9AB4 and 9AD6) were chosen for further study. Immunocytochemical studies at the light and electron microscopic levels were used to show that 9AB4 recognized E2 at all stages of its transport from the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it was synthesized, to the cell surface via the smooth ER and Golgi complex. In contrast, 9AD6 only recognized E2 once it had left the ER and entered the stacks of flattened Golgi cisternae. Binding of 9AD6 to E2 did not appear to be the result of the changes in oligosaccharide structure that occur in the Golgi complex and the precise modification detected by 9AD6 remains to be elucidated. A later modification, the cleavage of precursor E2 (p62) to give mature E2, was used to show that 9AD6 bound the latter more tightly than the former, whereas 9AB4 bound both with equal affinity. These results show that monoclonal antibodies might be useful when searching for new modifications to proteins undergoing intracellular transport.

Animals↗

A monoclonal antibody against a 135-K Golgi membrane protein.

A monoclonal antibody ( 53FC3 ) has been produced against a Golgi membrane protein with a mol. wt. of 135 000 which was originally identified using a polyclonal antiserum. Treatment of isolated, intact Golgi vesicles with protease caused a decrease in mol. wt. of 5000-10 000, whereas in the presence of Triton X-100, the protein was completely degraded. This shows that the protein spans the bilayer and that most of its mass is on the luminal side of Golgi membranes. Using two immunoelectron microscopic techniques, the protein was found in one or two cisternae on one side of the Golgi stack which, in normal rat kidney cells, had 4-6 cisternae. As an illustration of the use to which this monoclonal antibody can be put we present a light microscopic study of the disassembly and reassembly of the Golgi complex during mitosis.

Animals↗

Viral membrane proteins acquire galactose in trans Golgi cisternae during intracellular transport.

Frozen, thin sections of baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells were incubated with either concanavalin A (Con A) or Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA) to localize specific oligosaccharide moieties in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi membranes. These lectins were then visualized using an anti-lectin antibody followed by protein A conjugated to colloidal gold. All Golgi cisternae and all ER membranes were uniformly labeled by Con A. In contrast, RCA gave a uniform labeling of only half to three-quarters of those cisternae on the trans side of the Golgi stack; one or two cis Golgi cisternae and all ER membranes were essentially unlabeled. This pattern of lectin labeling was not affected by infection of the cells with Semliki Forest virus (SFV). Infected cells transport only viral spike glycoproteins from their site of synthesis in the ER to the cell surface via the stacks of Golgi cisternae where many of the simple oligosaccharids on the spike proteins are converted to complex ones (Green, J., G. Griffiths, D. Louvard, P. Quinn, and G. Warren. 1981. J. Mol. Biol. 152:663-698). It is these complex oligosaccharides that were shown, by immunoblotting experiments, to be specifically recognized by RCA. Loss of spike proteins from Golgi cisternae after cycloheximide treatment (Green et al.) was accompanied by a 50% decrease in the level of RCA binding. Hence, about half of the RCA bound to Golgi membranes in thin sections was bound to spike proteins bearing complex oligosaccharides and these were restricted to the trans part of the Golgi stack. Our results strongly suggest that complex oligosaccharides are constructed in trans Golgi cisternae and that the overall movement of spike proteins is from the cis to the trans side of the Golgi stack.

Animals↗

Demonstration of myoglobin in formalin-fixed renal sections by immunoperoxidase technic.

The use of an immunohistochemical technic offers a very sensitive method to detect myoglobin in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. Thus, the technic is suitable for retrospective studies. Myoglobin can be demonstrated at the brush border and apical cytoplasm of the tubular epithelium of proximal tubules. Granular substances and casts in the lumens also react positively with antimyoglobin. Our findings confirm the results of a previous animal study, showing that myoglobin is filtered through glomeruli and reabsorbed by the proximal tubules.

Cytoplasm↗

The role of clathrin-coated vesicles in acrosome formation.

Ultrastructural and cytochemical observations are presented which suggest that coated vesicles originating from the trans (distal) aspect of the rat spermatid Golgi apparatus transport lysosomal enzymes from the Golgi to the developing acrosome. Using an affinity purified antibody against the clathrin coats of pig brain coated vesicles, immunofluorescence and immuno-electron microscopic studies were carried out on frozen sections of rat seminiferous tubules. The results showed a specific labelling of the Golgi-acrosome region which corresponded precisely with the location of the coated vesicles in Epon sections. We conclude tht a least some of the coated vesicles in this region have clathrin coats.

Acid Phosphatase↗

Levamisole and leucocyte migration into sponge exudates.

Locally administered levamisole enhanced leucocyte migration into inert sponges implanted into rats for either 4 or 48 h. The stimulated cell at both times was predominantly the polymorphonuclear neutrophil. Locally administered levamisole also enhanced leucocyte migration into inert sponges implanted into arthritic rats, during the primary stage as well as well as during the secondary stage after adjuvant injection when arthritis had been fully established.

Animals↗