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A mechanically strong matrix for protein electrophoresis with enhanced silver staining properties.

Duracryl is a mechanically strong and elastic acrylamide-based matrix, useful for a wide variety of electrophoretic applications. The matrix is stable as a refrigerated solution for one year. Upon addition of appropriate catalysts, Duracryl forms a polymer-reinforced polyacrylamide gel matrix suitable for electrophoresis. The polymer-reinforced gel is superior to conventional polyacrylamide gels in terms of mechanical strength, elasticity and protein silver staining properties. Protein detection sensitivity by silver staining, as well as the linear response of silver deposition versus protein load, is equivalent to standard acrylamide/N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide gels. Additionally, the silver staining properties of the Duracryl matrix result in proteins appearing as monochromatic shades of grey instead of red, brown and yellow, as is the case of conventional polyacrylamide matrices. Monochromatic shades of grey are more suitable for image analysis and densitometry. The matrix is compatible with standard electroblotting and protein N-terminal sequencing procedures. Low acrylic acid content and conductivity allow incorporation of the matrix into isoelectric focusing gels. The matrix was found not to alter polypeptide migration relative to the standard acrylamide/N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide matrix.

Acrylic Resins↗

Differential silver staining in lymphocytes and lymphoblastoid cell cultures.

An analysis of the patterns of silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs), an indication of rDNA transcriptional activity, was carried out in metaphases from peripheral lymphocytes and young lymphoblastoid cell cultures (LCL) transformed by Epstein-Barr virus. Four individuals previously shown to carry a double NOR (dNOR) were studied. The dNOR varied in staining frequency and showed intra-individual variation in appearance in both cell types. For each individual a significantly greater mean number of AgNORs was observed in LCL (7.0-8.04) when compared with lymphocytes (5.8-6.4). To control for possible serum stimulation effects, lymphocytes from one individual were cultured in 20% serum as was the LCL of all subjects. The mean number of AgNORs in these lymphocytes remained significantly lower than in the LCL, as did the mean size of the dNOR, based on a relative score. Our results suggest that LCL have increased expression of rDNA, as evidenced by silver staining.

Cells, Cultured↗

Immunogold silver staining for light microscopy.

The immunogold silver staining method (IGSS) is widely used as a sensitive and specific immunohistochemical visualisation technique. IGSS involves the specific deposition of metallic silver at the site of immunogold labelling and provides a means of visualisation at low magnification by light or electron microscopy. Silver developers for IGSS rapidly deposit metallic silver only at the site of heavy metals, including gold and silver, because of their catalytic activity. The developing solution contains the silver ions and reducing agent necessary for this reaction. Using different silver salts as ion donors and by selecting an appropriate temperature and pH, visible amounts of silver can be deposited in a few minutes at the site of colloidal gold labelling while little non-specific background deposition occurs. Inclusion of protective colloids in the solution can also be used to control the reaction. Although studies of the chemical basis of silver deposition around unlabelled colloidal gold date back to 1939, immunogold enhancement by silver was established in 1983. The IGSS method evolved from the combination of disparate photographic, histochemical and immunogold techniques which have been effectively combined and optimised over the last 10 years to provide a visualisation system which is well suited to many immunohistochemical studies.

Humans↗

Microwave irradiation improvements in the silver staining of the nucleolar organizer (Ag-NOR) technique.

The well-known technique of silver staining of the nucleolar organizer (Ag-NOR) is improved in contrast, selectivity and speed when performed with microwave irradiation. The Ag-NOR technique is a very useful tool for studies on the functional morphology and molecular architecture of the nucleolus, and is reputed to be one of the best techniques for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer lesions. To test the generality of the enhancing effects, our study has involved the use of both mammalian and plant cells. Two steps in the process are improved quantitatively by microwave irradiation: fixation and staining itself. Fixation with the ethanol-based reagent, Kryofix, for 3 min in the microwave oven, resulted in good structural preservation at the optical level, and enhanced the contrast and selectivity of silver staining. On the contrary, we found that neither glutaraldehyde fixation, nor a treatment of sections with Carnoy's solution, improved Ag-NOR staining. After an analysis of the effects of the different substances involved in sample preparation, we conclude that ethanol is an essential factor for fixation for nucleolar staining, particularly if aldehydes are eliminated from fixative solutions. The process of staining was performed with a drop of staining solution on a semithin section of plastic-embedded tissue in the microwave oven for 1 min. Staining under these conditions always improved the visualization of nucleoli, regardless of the fixation procedure. Therefore, microwave irradiation at both steps is recommended for giving the best results. Microwave irradiation probably enhances fixation by controlled heat, whereas the increase in reactivity of the staining solution is a direct effect by the microwaves on the silver ions themselves. We used this method to study nucleolar materials during mitosis in proliferating plant cells. Current applications of Ag-NOR staining can be improved with this technical modification.

Animals↗

Visualization of centriole-bodies using silver stain.

Duplicate staining of human metaphase chromosomes, first with Giemsa followed by silver, revealed the presence of two small silver-stained bodies not seen in the Giemsa stained metaphases. Similar bodies were subsequently found in the metaphases of several animal groups. The size, structure, spatial relationships to the nucleus, behavior throughout the cell cycle, and apparent universal presence of these bodies suggest that they are either centrioles or associated centriolar structures. These centriole-bodies can be seen throughout the cell cycle, even in hypotonically spread C-metaphase chromosome plates. The silver stain procedure allows enough resolution to distinguish parent and daughter centriole-bodies at interphase, thus permitting visualization of the replication, maturation and separation stages of these bodies with the light microscope.

Animals↗

Differences between the fingerprints generated from total RNA and poly-A RNA using a modified procedure of cDNA-AFLP and silver staining.

A modified procedure of cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) combined with silver staining is described which generates clear band patterns from both fungal total RNA and poly-A RNA. The silver staining procedure takes only 25 min. Some 42-55 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) were yielded from the total RNA of eight fungal pathogens. In comparison with the fingerprints generated from Mycosphaerella graminicola total RNA, those from poly-A RNA showed eight TDFs with an increased intensity and also seven additional TDFs. It suggests that poly-A RNA is preferable as starting material for ideal cDNA-AFLP analysis.

Comet Assay↗

Combined use of silver staining of the retrograde tracer WGAapoHRP-Au and pre-embedding immunocytochemistry for electron microscopy: demonstration of dopaminergic terminals in synaptic contact with striatal neurons projecting to the substantia nigra in the rat.

We investigated the applicability of the pre-embedding immunoperoxidase technique to WGAapoHRP-Au retrograde tracing. After injection of the tracer into the substantia nigra of rat, the brain was fixed and cryostat sections were immunostained for dopamine. The sections were osmicated and silver-stained to amplify the colloidal gold particles. Products of both the immunoperoxidase staining and the silver staining could be detected and distinguished by electron microscopy at low magnification. The ultrastructure was so well preserved that synaptic characteristics could be investigated. Dopaminergic terminals were demonstrated to synapse with striatal neurons projecting to the substantia nigra.

Animals↗

Histopathology of the enteric neuropathies. From silver staining to immunohistochemistry.

The gut is abundantly supplied with neurons, extrinsic and intrinsic nerve fibers. Knowledge regarding the structure of the enteric nervous system derives principally from the classic silver-staining methods. Because silver stains do not provide information on the molecular constituents of neurons, these data only facilitate classification and may have diagnostic significance. Studies using histochemistry and immunohistochemistry are now completing the morphologic picture and laying the groundwork for the formulation of therapeutic strategies based upon demonstrable chemical defects in enteric disease.

Coloring Agents↗

Aneuploidy in sclerosing adenosis may predict an increased risk of malignancy. A study using the AgNOR silver stain.

Sclerosing adenosis (SA) of the breast if a disease associated with an increase relative risk of malignancy. The exact incidence and factors influencing malignant transformation in association with SA are not well established. Two counts of the AgNOR silver staining technique have been correlated with ploidy and proliferative activity. The first count which is the mean number of AgNOR granules (mAgNOR), correlates with ploidy. The second count is the percentage of nuclei exhibiting > or = 5 AgNORs/nucleus (pAgNOR) and reflects proliferative activity. The hypothesis in the current study was that aneuploidy, as determined by the AgNOR silver staining technique, may potentially identify lesions of SA with an increased association with malignant breast disease. The AgNOR silver staining technique was performed on 69 cases of SA with the application of the two counts. Of these cases 53 were not associated with malignancy and 16 were associated with synchronous or metachronous carcinoma of the breast, these being 11 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), four cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and one case of lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). The patient ages ranged from 27 to 84 years (median 53 years) with a median follow up of 28 months. Six of the 53 cases of SA no associated with malignancy (11%) had aneuploid mAgNOR counts of > or = 2.4 whereas 12 of the 16 cases associated with carcinoma (80%) had such counts (p < 0.0005). This included nine cases of IDC, two cases of DCIS and the case of LCIS. Of the six aneuploid cases not associated with malignancy, two cases showed cytological atypia, one case was associated with atypical ductal hyperplasia and one case was seen in a leukemic patient who had received chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The pAgNOR counts showed a statistically less significant correlation with malignancy (p < 0.03). These findings suggest that aneuploidy, measured by the AgNOR silver stein, seen in SA may help identify lesions with a higher relative risk of being associated with breast carcinoma and hence that may require more aggressive management than diploid ones.

Adult↗

Distribution of rDNA in the nucleus of Giardia lamblia: detection by Ag-I silver stain.

Previous investigations have proved that diplomonads have primitive cell nuclei and lack a nucleolus. We determined the distribution of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in diplomonad nuclei that lacked a nucleolus. Giardia lamblia was used as the experimental organism with Euglena gracilis as the control. The distribution of rDNA was demonstrated indirectly by the modified Ag-I silver technique that can indicate specifically the nucleolus organizing region (NOR) by both light and electron microscopy. In ultrathin sections of silver stained Euglena cells, all silver grains were concentrated in the fibrosa of the nucleolus, while no silver grains were found in the cytoplasm, nucleoplasm, condensed chromosomes or pars granulosa of the nucleus. In the silver stained Giardia cells, no nucleolus was found, but a few silver grains were scattered in the nucleus. This suggests that the rDNA of Giardia does not form an NOR-like structure and that its nucleus is in a primitive state.

Animals↗

Effects of iodine pretreatment of sections upon immunogold-silver staining in light microscopic immunohistochemistry.

Effects of Lugol's iodine pretreatment upon immunogold-silver staining were examined in terms of the intensification of the reaction products obtained by physical development. Iodine pretreatment has diminished the duration necessary for the development, whereas the staining reaction of an appropriate intensity, could hardly be obtained by the pretreatment. In addition, essential staining reactions tended to be accompanied by marked nonspecific silver precipitations. It is concluded that iodine pretreatment should either be omitted or used with cautions in immunogold-silver staining procedures for the precise detection of antigenic sites.

Animals↗

Composition of human zona pellucida as revealed by SDS-PAGE after silver staining.

The macromolecular composition of zona pellucida (ZP) isolated from human oocytes and embryos was characterized by one- and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1-D- and 2-D-SDS-PAGE) under reducing conditions after silver staining. ZP specimens obtained after in vitro fertilization were removed from pools of heavily fragmented embryos and inseminated oocytes that failed to fertilize. For unfertilized oocytes, two major bands with an apparent molecular weight of, respectively, 96 and 76-54 kDa were observed after 1-D-SDS-PAGE and silver staining. When ZP were isolated from fragmented embryos, the electrophoretic pattern showed a marked attenuation of the 96-kDa band. Silver-stained 2-D-SDS-PAGE analysis of ZP components from unfertilized oocytes revealed the presence of four protein trains: ZP1 (Mr = 92-80 kDa, pl = 4.9-5.9), ZP2 (Mr = 66-58 kDa, pl = 5.0-6.0), ZP3H (high) (Mr = 72-58 kDa, pl = 3.5-5.1), and ZP3L (low) (Mr = 62-54 kDa, pl = 3.5-5.1). The human ZP3 family (ZP3H and ZP3L) showed marked heterogeneity. Fertilization-associated changes were apparent in the electrophoretic pattern. ZP1 (Mr = 92-86 kDa, pl = 5.0-5.8) displayed a dramatic decrease in intensity, and a new component had migrated to a position similar to that of ZP2. This modification may have been responsible for one aspect of the zona reaction, and could have contributed to a zona block to polysperma.

Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional↗

Ultrastructural localization of silver-staining nuclear proteins at the onset of transcription in early bovine embryos.

Argyrophilic nuclear proteins, known to be functionally associated with ribosomal genes, were localized, in four-, eight-, and 16-cell bovine embryo blastomere nuclei using two different silver-staining procedures. Within the eight-cell cleavage stage by the process of embryonal nucleologenesis in the cow embryo the full-capacity ribosome-producing machinery is established. In the four-cell embryo, many patches and islands of argyrophilic (Ag+) material were detected in the nucleoplasm. The nucleolus-precursor bodies (NPBs), composed uniformly of a homogeneous compact mass, were completely devoid of any silver staining. On the other hand, clear-cut localization of argyrophilic proteins was detected during the eight-cell stage either inside the transforming NPBs or in the close vicinity, or in the already differentiated nucleolus. In compact, nonvacuolated NPB, an intensive Ag+ area was detected, in the form of a lenticle, at the periphery of the NPB. During and following vacuolation of the NPB, no Ag+ was detected inside these vacuoles. It was seen, however, in the dense fibrillar nucleolar component surrounding the smaller vacuoles formed at the time of the establishment of nucleolar structure. Ag+ areas were seen repeatedly in the vicinity of NPBs, probably a part of the nucleolus-associated chromatin or, alternatively, representing the extranucleolar bodies. In blastomere nuclei of 16-cell embryos, already possessing reticulated nucleoli known from intensively synthesizing somatic cells, the silver-staining pattern corresponded to the usual situation in differentiated cells: slight staining of fibrillar centers, heavy labelling in the dense fibrillar component, and absence of silver deposits in the granular component.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Age-related changes in sulfide-silver staining in the rat neostriatum: a quantitative histochemical study.

The density and distribution of sulfide-silver staining in the neostriatum of 3-, 12-, and 24-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were analyzed using the neo-Timm sulfide-silver histochemical technique associated with microdensitometry. This technique stains zinc-containing terminals in the striatum and the density of neo-Timm staining is considered to be parallel to the density of synaptic boutons containing zinc. In the neostriatum sulfide-silver, staining was intense in the matrix, although the striosomes did not show appreciable reactivity. The density of sulfide-silver staining was significantly reduced (p less than 0.001) in the matrix of 12-month-old in comparison to 3-month-old rats. No further changes were noticeable between 24- and 12-month-old rats. In contrast, the area and the perimeter of neostriatum that were assessed by quantitative image analysis did not show age-related changes. The present results indicated that similar to the observations for a variety of neurochemical parameters of rat neostriatum such as local cerebral glucose utilization, cholinergic muscarinic receptors, and dopamine D-1 receptors, zinc-containing striatal terminal were primarily decreased between young and adult subjects but not between adult and aged animals.

Aging↗

Numerical variation of nucleolar organizer regions after silver staining in domestic and wild Suidae (Mammalia).

Selective silver staining was used to investigate the cellular distribution of numbers of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) of eight different breeds, the European wild boar (S. scrofa scrofa), Indonesian wild boar (S. scrofa vittatus), Javan warty pig (S. verrucosus), Sulawesi warty pig (S. celebensis), and pigmy hog (S. salvanius). In the domestic pig as well as in the wild (sub)species of Sus, actively transcribing ribosomal RNA genes were found to be present in the secondary constrictions of chromosome pairs 10 and 8. Chromosomes 10 were consistently Ag-positive. Chromosomes 8 less frequently showed Ag-NORs, resulting in different mean numbers of Ag-NORs per individual animal. Mean Ag-NOR numbers per breed or (sub)species were generally higher in the wild representatives of Sus than in the domestic breeds. The highest mean numbers of Ag-NORs were observed in the Meishan breed and in S. celebensis and S. salvanius. The Meishan breed appears to be conservative in Ag-NOR staining pattern, being more comparable to the Asian wild Suidae than to the European breeds.

Animals↗

Interchromosomal, intercellular and interindividual variability of NORs studied with silver staining and in situ hybridization.

We investigated the relationship between transcriptional activity and the quantity of ribosomal cistrons of the nucleolar organizing regions (NORs) in chromosomal pair 3 of the Spanish mole Talpa occidentalis. Transcriptional activity was estimated by the size of conventional silver-staining signals. The number of ribosomal cistrons was estimated by the size of the in situ hybridization signals obtained with a ribosomal DNA probe. A sample of cells was studied with each method in four different individuals, and the results obtained with the two techniques were compared. Furthermore, sequential analysis on the same cells was carried out to study the association of interstitial nucleolar constrictions with silver staining and in situ hybridization. Interchromosomal, intercellular and interindividual variability were found with both silver staining and in situ hybridization methods. Our results show that transcriptional activity of NORs does not depend exclusively on the number of ribosomal cistrons they have as a high percentage of cells had two NORs with abundant ribosomal cistrons, only one of which was active. Additional factors, probably responsible for the activation of transcription, may be involved in this variability.

Animals↗