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Biomedical subjects

S Penman

Publications and source records attributed to S Penman.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Bio Vision: microscopy in three dimensions.

Conventional electron microscopy is inadequate for visualizing the three-dimensional networks supporting cell architecture: the cytoskeleton and nuclear matrix. Consequently, we have not appreciated the extent to which the cell, its biochemistry, and its molecular biology are structured. A new technology combining in situ cell fractionation and resinless section electron microscopy allows the visualization of cell structure in three dimensions and permits the localization of individual components. These techniques reveal a far richer cell architecture than had been assumed and will allow important problems of biology, which have not surrendered their secrets to a purely biochemical approach, to be addressed.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Multiple types of mRNA-cytoskeleton interactions.

Nearly all actively translated mRNAs are associated with the cytoskeleton in HeLa cells and the nature of this association is poorly understood. To gain insight into this association, we have examined and compared the cytoskeleton-mRNA interactions of a signal peptide-histone fusion mRNA (membrane-bound polysomal mRNA) to those of endogenous histone mRNA (nonmembrane-bound polysomal mRNA). We report here the detection of a cytoskeleton attachment site within the signal peptide-histone fusion mRNP/mRNA nucleotide sequence that is not present in wild-type histone mRNA or in HLA-B7 and chorionic gonadotropin-alpha membrane-bound polysomal mRNAs. These results support the possibility that there are multiple mechanisms for the attachment of specific classes of mRNAs to the cytoskeleton.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Differential association of membrane-bound and non-membrane-bound polysomes with the cytoskeleton.

We report here a differential release of specific mRNAs from the cytoskeleton by cytochalasin D treatment. Non-membrane-bound polysomal mRNAs, such as histone mRNA and c-fos mRNA, are readily released from the cytoskeleton of HeLa cells during cytochalasin D treatment. Over 90% of H3 and H4 histone mRNA is associated with the cytoskeleton in control cells and only 25% in cells treated with cytochalasin D (40 micrograms/ml). In contrast, the membrane-bound polysomal mRNAs for HLA-B7 and chorionic gonadotropin-alpha are inefficiently released from the cytoskeletal framework by cytochalasin D alone; approximately 98% of the HLA-B7 mRNA in control cells is associated with the cytoskeleton, whereas approximately 65% of the HLA-B7 mRNA is retained on the cytoskeleton in cells treated with cytochalasin D (40 micrograms/ml). Disruption of polysome structure with puromycin during cytochalasin D treatment results in the efficient release of HLA-B7 mRNA from the cytoskeleton. Under these conditions, only 25% of the HLA-B7 mRNA remains associated with the cytoskeletal framework. Thus, membrane-bound polysomes appear to be attached to the cytoskeleton through a cytochalasin D-sensitive site as well as through association with the nascent polypeptide and/or ribosome. These results demonstrate a complex association of polysomes with the cytoskeleton and elements of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed1990

Progressive changes in the protein composition of the nuclear matrix during rat osteoblast differentiation.

Primary cultures of fetal rat calvarial osteoblasts undergo a developmental sequence with respect to the temporal expression of genes encoding osteoblast phenotypic markers. Based on previous suggestions that gene-nuclear matrix associations are involved in regulating cell- and tissue-specific gene expression, we investigated the protein composition of the nuclear matrix during this developmental sequence by using high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The nuclear matrix was isolated at times during a 4-week culture period that represent the three principal osteoblast phenotypic stages: proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) maturation, and mineralization. The most dramatic changes in the nuclear matrix protein patterns occurred during transitions from the proliferation to the ECM maturation stage and from ECM maturation to the mineralization period, with only minor variations in the profiles within each period. These stage-specific changes, corresponding to the major transition points in gene expression, indicate that the nuclear matrix proteins reflect the progressive differentiation of the bone cell phenotype. Subcultivation of primary cells delays mineralization, and a corresponding delay was observed for the nuclear matrix protein patterns. Thus, the sequential changes in protein composition of the nuclear matrix that occur during osteoblast differentiation represent distinct stage-specific markers for maturation of the osteoblast to an osteocytic cell in a bone-like mineralized ECM. These changes are consistent with a functional involvement of the nuclear matrix in mediating modifications of developmental gene expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Imaging cytoskeleton--mitochondrial membrane attachments by embedment-free electron microscopy of saponin-extracted cells.

Embedment-free electron microscopy images the cytoskeleton and nuclear matrix, which are very difficult to visualize in conventional electron micrographs. However, to be effective, cell structures must be depleted of soluble proteins, which otherwise shroud cell architecture. Nonionic detergents effect this extraction, releasing soluble proteins but also destroying all membranes. Saponin can permeabilize plasma membranes, releasing soluble proteins while preserving many cytoplasmic membranes. Stereoscopic electron microscopy of resinless sections shows the many connections of the cytoskeleton to mitochondrial membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Immunolocalization in three dimensions: immunogold staining of cytoskeletal and nuclear matrix proteins in resinless electron microscopy sections.

We describe two methods for staining resinless thin sections with antibodies and gold-conjugated second antibodies. Immunolocalization of specific proteins is a powerful tool for cell structure studies but current techniques do not develop its full potential. Immunofluorescence provides only low-resolution localization, whereas conventional thin-section electron microscopy images and immunostains only the section surface. Resinless sections of extracted cell structures offer a simple and effective means of immuno-electron microscopy. Without embedding plastic or soluble proteins, the cell cytostructure produces high-contrast, three-dimensional images. Resinless sections of detergent-extracted cells are prepared by embedding in diethylene glycol distearate, sectioning, and removing diethylene glycol distearate before microscopy. In the first method of immunostaining, extracted cells were fixed and stained with antibodies before embedment, sectioning, removal of the embedding resin, and critical point drying. In the postembedment method, the sample was embedded and sectioned, the diethylene glycol distearate was removed, and the sample was rehydrated before antibody staining. With these techniques, specific proteins were localized with high resolution throughout the entire section. Stereoscopic micrographs of resinless sections revealed the precise localization of specific cytoskeleton and nuclear matrix proteins in three dimensions with unprecedented clarity.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1990

Core filaments of the nuclear matrix.

The nuclear matrix is concealed by a much larger mass of chromatin, which can be removed selectively by digesting nuclei with DNase I followed by elution of chromatin with 0.25 M ammonium sulfate. This mild procedure removes chromatin almost completely and preserves nuclear matrix morphology. The complete nuclear matrix consists of a nuclear lamina with an interior matrix composed of thick, polymorphic fibers and large masses that resemble remnant nucleoli. Further extraction of the nuclear matrices of HeLa or MCF-7 cells with 2 M sodium chloride uncovered a network of core filaments. A few dark masses remained enmeshed in the filament network and may be remnants of the nuclear matrix thick fibers and nucleoli. The highly branched core filaments had diameters of 9 and 13 nm measured relative to the intermediate filaments. They may serve as the core structure around which the matrix is constructed. The core filaments retained 70% of nuclear RNA. This RNA consisted both of ribosomal RNA precursors and of very high molecular weight hnRNA with a modal size of 20 kb. Treatment with RNase A removed the core filaments. When 2 M sodium chloride was used directly to remove chromatin after DNase I digestion without a preceding 0.25 M ammonium sulfate extraction, the core filaments were not revealed. Instead, the nuclear interior was filled with amorphous masses that may cover the filaments. This reflected a requirement for a stepwise increase in ionic strength because gradual addition of sodium chloride to a final concentration of 2 M without an 0.25 M ammonium sulfate extraction uncovered core filaments.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1990

Prompt heat-shock and heat-shifted proteins associated with the nuclear matrix-intermediate filament scaffold in Drosophila melanogaster cells.

Elevated temperatures induced the synthesis of several new proteins in Drosophila melanogaster cells. Besides the conventional heat shock (HS) proteins, another set of temperature-induced proteins has been found. These latter resemble the prompt HS proteins of mammalian cells. The prompt HS proteins of Drosophila differ from the well-known conventional HS proteins in the following properties: (1) synthesis of the prompt HS proteins is insensitive to the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D, which blocks the appearance of conventional HS proteins; (2) induction of the prompt HS proteins requires a significantly higher temperature than conventional HS proteins; (3) prompt HS proteins associate strictly with the nuclear matrix-intermediate filament complex (NM-IF), while the conventional HS proteins are found in all subcellular fractions; (4) prompt HS proteins of Drosophila are induced by high temperature alone while the conventional HS proteins are also produced by a variety of stress conditions. Resinless-section electron micrographs show an altered nuclear matrix morphology in heat-shocked cells. The nuclear matrix fibers are altered in spatial distribution and have much additional electron-dense material. This added material probably reflects the soluble proteins shifted into the nuclear matrix at high temperature. The prompt HS proteins can be distinguished clearly from heat-shifted proteins by several criteria. Also, the prompt HS proteins are distinct from the heat-insensitive viral proteins of a persistent virus (HPS-1).

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Chromatin architecture and nuclear RNA.

The maintenance of normal chromatin morphology requires ongoing RNA synthesis. We have examined the role of RNA in chromatin organization, using selective detergent extraction of cells, RNA synthesis inhibitors, and enzymatic digestion of nuclear RNA. Comparison of extracted and unextracted cells showed that the important features of chromatin architecture were largely unchanged by the extraction procedure. Normally, chromatin was distributed in small heterochromatic regions and dispersed euchromatic strands. Ribonucleoprotein granules were dispersed throughout the euchromatic regions. Exposure to actinomycin led to the redistribution of chromatin into large clumps, leaving large empty spaces and a dense clustering of the remaining ribonucleoprotein granules. When the nuclei of extracted cells were digested with RNase A, there was a rearrangement of chromatin similar to but more pronounced than that seen in cells exposed to actinomycin. The inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidizole also inhibits RNA synthesis but by a different mechanism that leaves no nascent RNA chains. The drug had little effect on chromatin after brief exposure but resembled actinomycin in its effect at longer times. We also examined the structure of the nuclear matrix to which most heteronuclear RNA remains associated. Pretreatment of cells with actinomycin or digestion of the nuclear matrix with RNase A caused the matrix fibers to collapse and aggregate. The experiments show a parallel decay of chromatin and of nuclear matrix organization with the depletion of nuclear RNA and suggest that RNA is a structural component of the nuclear matrix, which in turn may organize the higher order structure of chromatin.

Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed1989

Association of adenovirus DNA transcribed activity with nuclear matrix of host cells.

With gentle cell extraction techniques, various DNA components in the HeLa cells after 6 h of adenovirus infection have been obtained. Adenovirus, early transcribed regions (E2a, E1b) and a late transcribed region (L2) were used as probes in Southern hybridization, respectively. The experiment showed that only actively transcribed adenovirus DNA fragments would tightly bind to the nuclear matrix of host cells. We inferred that the nuclear matrix of host cells plays an important role in viral DNA transcription.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1988

Nuclear matrix proteins reflect cell type of origin in cultured human cells.

The low abundance proteins of the nuclear matrix (NM) were separated from the intermediate filament (IF) proteins and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Three human breast carcinoma lines had virtually identical patterns of 37 NM proteins. In contrast, cell lines derived from diverse tissues had qualitatively different NM protein patterns. Together, the five cell types examined here had a total of 205 distinguishable NM proteins with 125 of these proteins unique to a single cell type. The remaining NM proteins were shared among cell types to different degrees. Polyclonal antisera, obtained by immunization with total NM proteins as antigens, preferentially stained the nuclear interior and not the exterior IF. These observations suggest that the NM proteins, localized to the interior of the nucleus, vary in a cell-type-specific manner.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1987

Alterations in nuclear matrix structure after adenovirus infection.

Infection of HeLa cells with adenovirus serotype 2 causes rearrangements in nuclear matrix morphology which can best be seen by gentle cell extraction and embedment-free section electron microscopy. We used these techniques to examine the nuclear matrices and cytoskeletons of cells at 6, 13, 28, and 44 h after infection. As infection progressed, chromatin condensed onto the nucleoli and the nuclear lamina. Virus-related inclusions appeared in the nucleus, where they partitioned with the nuclear matrix. These virus centers consisted of at least three distinguishable areas: amorphously dense regions, granular regions whose granulations appeared to be viral capsids, and filaments connecting these regions to each other and to the nuclear lamina. The filaments became decorated with viral capsids of two different densities, which may be empty capsid shells and capsids with DNA-protein cores. The interaction of some capsids with the filaments persisted even after lysis of the cell. We propose that granulated virus-related structures are sites of capsid assembly and storage and that the filaments may be involved in the transport of capsids and capsid intermediates. The nuclear lamina became increasingly crenated after infection, with some extensions appearing to bud off and form blebs of nuclear material in the cytoplasm. The perinuclear cytoskeleton became rearranged after infection, forming a corona of decreased filament number around the nucleus. In summary, we propose that adenovirus rearranges the nuclear matrix and cytoskeleton to support its own replication.

Adenoviruses, Human↗
PubMed1986

Resinless section electron microscopy of HeLa cell mitotic architecture.

The use of resinless sections extends embedment-free electron microscopy to the cytoskeleton of thick specimens. Here we examine HeLa cells rounded at mitosis. Extraction of mitotic HeLa cells with Triton X-100 removes lipids and soluble proteins, leaving the cytoskeletal framework and spindle apparatus. After fixation, the samples are embedded and sectioned, and the temporary embedding resin is removed for direct visualization in the electron microscope. The micrographs show that the cytoskeletal framework, chromosomes, spindle, and centrioles form an interconnected entity. The pericentriolar region, indistinct in conventional micrographs, appears composed of distinct fibers interconnecting the spindle microtubules and centriole. The resinless sections also reveal characteristic lacunae at late anaphase/early telophase. These probably result from reformation of the interphase cytoskeleton lagging reassembly of the nucleus.

Centrioles↗
PubMed1986

The nonchromatin substructures of the nucleus: the ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-containing and RNP-depleted matrices analyzed by sequential fractionation and resinless section electron microscopy.

The nonchromatin structure or matrix of the nucleus has been studied using an improved fractionation in concert with resinless section electron microscopy. The resinless sections show the nucleus of the intact cell to be filled with a dense network or lattice composed of soluble proteins and chromatin in addition to the structural nuclear constituents. In the first fractionation step, soluble proteins are removed by extraction with Triton X-100, and the dense nuclear lattice largely disappears. Chromatin and nonchromatin nuclear fibers are now sharply imaged. Nuclear constituents are further separated into three well-defined, distinct protein fractions. Chromatin proteins are those that require intact DNA for their association with the nucleus and are released by 0.25 M ammonium sulfate after internucleosomal DNA is cut with DNAase I. The resulting structure retains most heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) and is designated the RNP-containing nuclear matrix. The proteins of hnRNP are those associated with the nucleus only if RNA is intact. These are released when nuclear RNA is briefly digested with RNAase A. Ribonuclease digestion releases 97% of the hnRNA and its associated proteins. These proteins correspond to the hnRNP described by Pederson (Pederson, T., 1974, J. Mol. Biol., 83:163-184) and are distinct from the proteins that remain in the ribonucleoprotein (RNP)-depleted nuclear matrix. The RNP-depleted nuclear matrix is a core structure that retains lamins A and C, the intermediate filaments, and a unique set of nuclear matrix proteins (Fey, E. G., K. M. Wan, and S. Penman, 1984, J. Cell Biol. 98:1973-1984). This core had been previously designated the nuclear matrix-intermediate filament scaffold and its proteins are a third, distinct, and nonoverlapping subset of the nuclear nonhistone proteins. Visualizing the nuclear matrix using resinless sections shows that nuclear RNA plays an important role in matrix organization. Conventional Epon-embedded electron microscopy sections show comparatively little of the RNP-containing and RNP-depleted nuclear matrix structure. In contrast, resinless sections show matrix interior to be a three-dimensional network of thick filaments bounded by the nuclear lamina. The filaments are covered with 20-30-nm electron dense particles which may contain the hnRNA. The large electron dense bodies, enmeshed in the interior matrix fibers, have the characteristic morphology of nucleoli. Treatment of the nuclear matrix with RNAase results in the aggregation of the interior fibers and the extensive loss of the 20-30-nm particles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Cell Fractionation↗
PubMed1986

Cytochalasin releases mRNA from the cytoskeletal framework and inhibits protein synthesis.

Cytochalasin D was shown to be a reversible inhibitor of protein synthesis in HeLa cells. The inhibition was detectable at drug levels typically used to perturb cell structure and increased in a dose-dependent manner. The drug also released mRNA from the cytoskeletal framework in direct proportion to the inhibition of protein synthesis. The released mRNA was unaltered in its translatability as measured in vitro but was no longer translated in the cytochalasin-treated HeLa cells. The residual protein synthesis occurred on polyribosomes that were reduced in amount but displayed a normal sedimentation distribution. The results support the hypothesis that mRNA binding to the cytoskeletal framework is necessary although not sufficient for translation. Analysis of the cytoskeletal framework, which binds the polyribosomes, revealed no alterations in composition or amount of protein as a result of treatment with cytochalasin D. Electron microscopy with embedment-free sections shows the framework in great detail. The micrographs revealed the profound reorganization effected by the drug but did not indicate substantial disaggregation of the cytoskeletal elements.

Cytochalasin D↗
PubMed1986

Association of RNA with the cytoskeleton and the nuclear matrix.

Heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA) is preferentially associated (76%) with the nuclear matrix in mammalian cells. Active mRNA, in the form of polyribosomes, is associated (greater than 97%) with the cytoskeletal framework. In this report, we present evidence that the association of both hnRNA and mRNA with structural networks of the cell may be essential features of gene expression. To study the association of polyribosomes with the cytoskeletal framework, cytochalasin D was used to release mRNA from the cytoskeletal framework. Protein synthesis was inhibited by cytochalasin D in direct proportion to the release of mRNA. The released mRNA is unaltered in its translatability as measured in vitro but is no longer translated in the cytochalasin-treated HeLa cells. The residual protein synthesis occurs on polyribosomes that are reduced in amount but display a normal sedimentation distribution. The results support the hypothesis that mRNA binding to the cytoskeletal framework is necessary, though not sufficient, for translation. Further fractionation of the cytoskeletal framework separates nuclear constituents into three distinct protein fractions. Chromatin proteins and 94% of the DNA are released by 0.25 M-ammonium sulphate after inter-nucleosomal DNA is cut with DNase I. The resulting structure retains 76% of the hnRNA in the form of ribonucleoprotein and is designated the RNP-containing nuclear matrix. The proteins of hnRNP complex are those associated with the nucleus only if RNA is intact. These proteins and 97% of the hnRNA are released after brief digestion with RNase A. Visualizing the nuclear matrix using resinless sections shows that nuclear RNA plays an important role in the organization of the nuclear matrix. Electron micrographs of resinless sections show the interior of the matrix to be a three-dimensional network of thick filaments bounded by the nuclear lamina. The filaments are densely covered with 20-30 nm electron-dense particles, which may contain the hnRNA. The RNP-depleted matrix is disordered and the interior fibres aggregated. These results suggest that hnRNA is involved in the spatial organization of the interior of the nuclear matrix.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

The morphological oncogenic signature. Reorganization of epithelial cytoarchitecture and metabolic regulation by tumor promoters and by transformation.

The dramatic changes in morphology induced by nanomolar doses of tumor-promoting agents, especially in epithelial cells, have been noted previously (Driedger and Blumberg, 1980; Rifkin et al., 1979; Croop et al., 1980; Phaire-Washington et al., 1980; Ohuchi and Levine, 1980; Ojakian, 1981; Fey and Penman, 1984). This chapter shows the effect of the tumor promoter TPA on the underlying skeletal framework, which is involved in the maintenance of both cell and epithelial tissue morphology. It should be emphasized, however, that similar results are obtained for all the tumor promoters as well as for the complete, ultimate carcinogens examined so far. The organization of the cytoskeletal elements involved in these morphological changes is faithfully retained during the fractionation procedure employed here, as is evident from SEM and TEM analysis of Triton-extracted cells. A number of promoting agents have been compared, and the degree of disorganization viewed in these whole mounts appears to parallel the potency of the promoting agents as measured by other assays (Fey and Penman, 1984). Also, the inactive analogues of phorbol ester have no effect on cell structure (Rifkin et al., 1979; Ojakian, 1981; Fey and Penman, 1984). We suggest that the effect of TPA on the cytoskeleton occurs early as compared with many of the commonly studied biochemical responses and may indeed underlie many of the previously described cellular response to promoting agents, such as mitogenic stimulation. TPA-induced alterations in NM-IF scaffold occur in the absence of both protein and RNA synthesis (Fey and Penman, 1984). By contrast, plasminogen activator, stimulated by TPA (Wigler and Weinstein, 1976), is completely blocked by pretreatment with both cycloheximide and actinomycin D (Weinstein et al., 1977; Ojakian, 1981). Ornithine decarboxylase, another enzyme that is rapidly induced by tumor promoters, is inhibited by both cycloheximide and actinomycin D in the presence of TPA (O'Brien, 1976). Thus two of the early biochemical markers for tumor-promoter activity are separable from the induction of cytoskeletal alterations by TPA. One of the most striking features of the response to promoting agents is the adoption of the transformed phenotype, in which cells lose growth control and cease being organized into meaningful tissue structure. The alteration of desmosomal and junctional associations and the concomitant change in cytokeratin organization are clearly related to the breakdown of epithelial organization. The phenotype is completely reversible although it takes about 3 days for the mode line to reestablish normal morphology (data not shown).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗