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Electron microscopy of human hepatitis B virus cores by negative staining-carbon film technique.

The ultrastructure of the nucleocapsid component of human hepatitis B virus (core particle) was studied by negative staining-carbon film technique. Using this method an improved image of core particles was obtained in respect of resolution and contrast. Two-dimensional crystalline arrays of core particles were formed in vitro. Under these arrays the distance between the particle centers was 28.3 nm, corresponding to the capsid diameter, when analyzed through optical diffraction patterns. Positively stained images of these arrays revealed that core particles contain an electron-dense center of nucleoid-like area about 21 nm in diameter. The capsid surface rarely exhibited small capsomeres, ie, small spheres or ring-like structures measuring 4.0-4.2 nm. From the dimension of these structures and the analysis by Markham's rotational technique, it was suggested that each of these capsomeres is an individual subunit (monomer) and 180 of these subunits build up the core particle capsid according to the icosahedral symmetry (T = 3), but not clustering into distinct morphological features.

Capsid↗

Ultrastructure of the pellicular complex of Plasmodium fallax.

The exoerythrocytic merozoites of Plasmodium fallax grown in a tissue-culture system have been investigated by negative staining and thin-sectioning techniques, and the respective results have been compared. Negative staining provided additional information, corroborated findings obtained with thin sectioning, and contributed particularly to the study of the pellicular complex of the merozoites which has been demonstrated as being composed of three layers: a thin outer membrane, a thick interrupted inner membrane, and a partial layer of microtubules. Observations made of negatively stained parasites revealed that the thick, interrupted inner membrane in thin sections is actually a labyrinthine structure and covers the entire surface of the merozoite, except at the regions of the conoid and the cytostome. The microtubules which radiate from the conoid to the posterior end demonstrated a transverse periodicity and filamental subunits parallel to the axis of the microtubule. The detailed structure of the conoid and the cytostome is also described.

Animals↗

Fine structure of the epidermal basement membrane of the lip: applications of dithiothreitol separation and ultrathin frozen sectioning.

The fine structure of the epidermal basement membrane at the electron-microscopic level has already been defined. To obtain more details, two techniques, dithiothreitol separation and ultrathin frozen sectioning, were applied either alone or in combination. Negatively stained ultrathin sections showed a much thicker lamina densa than ordinary plastic-embedded sections. In the lamina lucida, bridging filaments and subbasal dense plates were observed in negative images. After the treatment with dithiothreitol, the lamina densa could be peeled off mechanically from the underlying dermis, and the anchoring fibrils were pulled off the dermis, preserving the connection with the lamina densa. With this specimen, bundles of anchoring fibrils were observed clearly and their lengths could be measured. Negatively stained ultrathin sections of dithiothreitol-separated specimens showed the fine structure of the lamina lucida. Bridging filaments in the lamina lucida were resolved by negative staining.

Animals↗

[Immunohistochemical study on SMDS using anti-actin monoclonal antibody].

For elucidating the relationship between the causes of sudden manhood death syndrome (SMDS) and cardiac sudden death, the cardiac conducting system-(CCS) and myocardium of 23 cases including SMDS group, coronary heart disease group and normal control group were studied using anti-actin monoclonal antibody (HHF35) S-P immunohistochemical method. The results showed that some areas of CCS and myocardium were stained negatively by HHF35 in SMDS group but no infarction area can be found with H.E staining. The negative staining by HHF35 can be also observed in all cases of coronary heart disease group. In control group, the CCS and myocardium stained positively. It indicated that there were pathological changes such as early ischemia or infarction of myocardium in SMDS, which related closely to cardiac sudden death.

Actins↗

Electron microscopy and computer image averaging of ice-embedded large ribosomal subunits from Escherichia coli.

Electron micrographs of frozen-hydrated, large ribosomal subunits from Escherichia coli have been analyzed by computer image processing. Images of subunits in the so-called "crown" orientation were analyzed by correlation alignment procedures developed for negatively stained specimens. Averages of the aligned images showed both similarities and differences to averages determined for negatively stained specimens. The L1 ridge is more dense and stalk-like in frozen-hydrated as compared with negatively stained subunits, possibly because it is associated with ribosomal RNA. The results show that it should be feasible to determine the three-dimensional structure of the large ribosomal subunit from micrographs of individual, frozen-hydrated subunits that have been tilted in the electron microscope.

Computers↗

Ultrastructure of cells of Treponema pertenue obtained from experimentally infected hamsters.

Cells of Treponema pertenue Gauthier obtained by elution from skin lesions and lymph nodes of experimentally infected hamsters were studied in the electron microscope by means of negative staining. The cells were also examined in thin secions of skin biopsies and lymph nodes. Fimbriae were observed on the negatively stained cells. Until now fimbriae have not been demonstrated on negatively stained cells of other species of Treponema, but at present only one straon of T. pertenue has been studied in our laboratory. Otherwise, the ultrastructure of the T. pertenue cells was found to be very similar, if not identical to, the substructural details observed in cells of T. pallidum and T. cuniculi. In thin sections of skin biopsies, treponemes were observed in the intercellular spaces between cells of the stratum basale and the stratum spinosum layers of the epidermis.

Animals↗

Use of E-cadherin and CD44 aids in the differentiation between reactive mesothelial cells and carcinoma cells in pelvic washings.

BACKGROUND: The presence of malignant cells in peritoneal washings is an independent prognostic factor in the evaluation of gynecologic malignancies. The differentiation between reactive mesothelial cells and carcinoma cells can be a diagnostic challenge based on morphology alone. The expression of some cell adhesion molecules may be helpful in the differential diagnosis. METHODS: To evaluate the specificity of 2 transmembrane cell adhesion proteins (E-cadherin and CD44) in the differentiation of mesothelial cells from carcinoma cells in pelvic washings, formalin fixed, paraffin embedded cell blocks of pelvic washings from 19 cases of metastatic ovarian adenocarcinoma and 16 cases of benign peritoneal washings were immunostained with monoclonal antibodies to E-cadherin and CD44. The staining patterns were evaluated blindly by three observers. Positive staining was defined as uniform membranous staining for each marker. RESULTS: Fourteen benign peritoneal washings (87.5%) demonstrated immunoreactivity with anti-CD44. On the contrary, only four adenocarcinomas (21.1%) demonstrated anti-CD44 immunoreactivity. E-cadherin expression was identified in only 2 benign peritoneal washings (12.5%) whereas 16 adenocarcinomas (84.2%) strongly expressed E-cadherin. The differences in immunostaining for both CD44 and E-cadherin between benign and malignant peritoneal washings were statistically significant. The combination of positive staining for E-cadherin and negative staining for CD44 was 100% specific for metastatic adenocarcinoma, whereas a combination of negative staining for E-cadherin and positive staining for CD44 was 100% specific for reactive mesothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: Both E-cadherin and CD44 reliably distinguish reactive mesothelial cells from adenocarcinoma. The combination of E-cadherin/CD44 is highly specific and is a useful diagnostic adjunct with which to distinguish benign reactive mesothelial cells from adenocarcinoma in pelvic washings.

Adenocarcinoma↗

The pattern of MAP-2 binding on microtubules: visual enhancement of MAP attachment sites by antibody labeling and electron microscopy.

We used affinity-purified rabbit antibody to hog brain microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) to examine the pattern of attachment of MAPs to microtubules purified by cycles of in vitro assembly and disassembly. Microtubules were fixed, deposited on EM grids, and labeled with antibody and protein A-gold colloid followed by negative staining. We observed that: The sites of MAP attachment were greatly enhanced by antibody binding in negatively stained preparations. The axial repeat revealed by antibody (100 +/- 5 nm) was greater than the previously reported value of 32 nm based on thin sectioning and negative staining procedures. The antibody was arranged in a broad band and revealed a helical pattern of binding. Microtubules with and without treatment with alpha-chymotrypsin to remove the projection portion of MAP-2 looked similar, suggesting that the antibody-enhanced pattern may reflect the sites of MAP attachment on microtubules. Microtubules with an increased MAP:tubulin ratio exhibited the same 100-nm periodicity.

Animals↗

Litomosoides carinii: extraction of the microfilarial sheath components and antigenicity of the sheath fractions.

Microfilarial sheaths of Litomosoides carinii were isolated and extracted with 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 5% 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME). Extraction with SDS alone did not alter the ultrastructure of the sheaths and yielded five polypeptides (27-67 kDa) that were not recognized by antibodies of infected hosts but reacted with antibodies to host-serum proteins. 2ME treatment caused partial solubilization of the sheaths (45% as determined by amino acid analysis), which could be further improved by combining 2ME with SDS. The remainder showed filamentous/threadlike structures on electron microscopic examination. As compared with whole sheaths, the insoluble proportion was markedly enriched in alanine and cysteine but contained less galactosamine, serine, and threonine. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of 2ME/SDS-extractable components showed 12-16 bands of 14- greater than 120 kDa. A predominant component had an apparent molecular mass of 22 kDa. Two bands (42 and 120 kDa) could be stained with Coomassie blue but showed "negative" staining when gels were stained with silver. Several components (but not the 22-kDa polypeptide) bore phosphocholine epitopes. Apart from the negatively staining bands, most of the 2ME-soluble sheath components were recognized by antibodies of L. carinii-infected Mastomys coucha. Except for several polypeptides that had been unspecifically recognized by IgM, the antibody response to sheath components started at the end of the prepatent period.

Amino Acids↗

Detection and differentiation of yellow head complex viruses using monoclonal antibodies.

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against pathogenic yellow head virus (YHV) from Thailand were tested against tissues of shrimp from Thailand, Australia, Ecuador and India that were purported to be infected with yellow head complex viruses. MAbs V-3-2B and Y-18 were specific to gp116 and gp64 envelope proteins, respectively, while Y-19 was specific to a 20 kDa putative nucleoprotein p20. As a preliminary step, the site of reactivity of the 3 MAbs in YHV was determined by immuno-electron microscopy using ultra-thin sections of YHV-infected shrimp tissue and negatively stained, semi-purified YHV particles. As expected, MAb Y-19 reacted with viral nucleocapsids in ultra-thin sections but not with negatively stained, whole virions; MAb V-3-2B did react with negatively stained, whole virions, but not with virions or nucleocapsids in ultra-thin sections. Unexpectedly, MAb Y-18 did not react with whole or sectioned virions. By immunohistochemistry, MAbs Y-19 and Y-18 reacted with Penaeus monodon tissues infected with either YHV or with gill-associated virus (GAV) from Australia, while MAb V-3-2B reacted with YHV only. In addition, all the YHV and GAV tissue samples gave positive in situ hybridization reactions with a cDNA probe specific to the ORF1b gene of YHV. They also gave expected differential RT-PCR results for YHV and GAV. By contrast, 2 natural Thai shrimp specimens with no gross signs of disease gave similar immunohistochemical reactions and RT-PCR reactions to GAV. However, sequencing of their RT-PCR products showed that they shared 92.7% identity with GAV, but only 79.0% identity with YHV. Although specimens from Ecuador and India displayed histopathology suggestive of YHV infection, they gave negative immunohistochemical reactions with all 3 Mabs, and negative in situ hybridization results. Additional work is required to determine whether a virus from the yellow head complex was responsible for their observed histopathology. These data show that the 3 YHV MAbs could be used in diagnostic situations to differentiate some viruses in the yellow head virus complex.

Animals↗

Improved staining of negative binding sites with ruthenium red on cryosections of frozen cells.

Hexavalent cationic dye ruthenium red (RR) binds to anionic sites of cellular components, predominantly to the surface coat rich in glycoconjugates, and can be used as a marker of negative binding sites. Due to limited penetration of RR only superficial layers of cells are stained satisfactorily. To improve RR staining of L1210 leukemic cells isolated from culture and concentrated by centrifugation, cryosections of frozen cells were treated by RR to expose simultaneously all the cells and their components to the dye treatment. Cells were fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde in cacodylate buffer (CB), soaked in 2.2 mol/l sucrose and frozen by plunging into liquid nitrogen. Ultrathin cryosections were cut at a temperature of -90 degrees C, transferred to Formvar coated copper grids, postfixed with 1% OsO4 and stained with 0.05% RR in CB for 60-120 min. After removing RR solution with filter the grids were dried and examined electron microscopically. The resulting staining was a combination of a negative contrast (the plasma membrane and membranes of intracellular organelles) and of a positive contrast (cytoplasmic matrix and the extracellular coat). RR staining of negative binding sites on cryosections has proved useful for uniform exposure of all cells and cellular compartments to the dye and especially of external coat containing glycoconjugates.

Animals↗

Introduction: electron microscopy for fungal cell ultrastructure

Ultrastructural morphology is a principal study for almost all natural science, i.e., an inevitable and fundamental study to elucidate structures, functions and differentiation of a given tissue, cell, or molecule as a most understandable visual form. The number of young scientists, however, who have been engaged in this field is very small recently, since this field appears to be too old when compared with modern molecular biology and it takes much longer time for the beginner to master the methology for electron microscopy (EM). This symposium is designed for these young scientists and molecular biologists or biochemists, who are not so familiar to ultrastructural morphology, to better understand the applicability of EM, through new results and findings in ultrastructures of fungal cells and related organisms. EM includes several kinds of methods, which are shadowing EM, negative staining EM, ultrathin section EM, scanning EM, freeze-fracture EM, immuno-EM and diverse methods for staining the specimen. Shadowing EM and negative staining EM are suitable methods for the study molecular structures of proteins, and the former is prepared by shadowing with platinum palladium in a vacuum chamber, and the latter is a method to observe a relief prepared by dipping the sample in phosphotungsten solution. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy is suitable for the study of membrane plane ultrastructures, since it reveals a wide planar view of the membrane by splitting it along the hydrophobic membrane internal plane. Immunoelectron microscopy is an essential method for the study of intracellular localization of proteinous molecules. These methods will be introduced. This symposium will introduce new findings as for fungal cells, bacteria and protozoa obtained principally by using electron microscopy. These findings obtained through ultrastructures may provided a renewed knowledge of research approach from view points of ultrastructure.

Journal Article↗

Structural aspects and immunolocalization of the F420-reducing and non-F420-reducing hydrogenases from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg.

The F420-reducing hydrogenase and the non-F420-reducing hydrogenase (EC 1.12.99.1.) were isolated from a crude extract of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg. Electron microscopy of the negatively stained F420-reducing hydrogenase revealed that the enzyme is a complex with a diameter of 15.6 nm. It consists of two ring-like, stacked, parallel layers each composed of three major protein masses arranged in rotational symmetry. Each of these masses appeared to be subdivided into smaller protein masses. Electron microscopy of negatively stained samples taken from intermediate steps of the purification process revealed the presence of enzyme particles bound to inside-out membrane vesicles. Linker particles of 10 to 20 kDa which mediate the attachment of the hydrogenase to the cytoplasmic membrane were seen. Immunogold labelling confirmed that the F420-reducing hydrogenase is a membrane-bound enzyme. Electron microscopy of the negatively stained purified non-F420-reducing hydrogenase revealed that the enzyme is composed of three subunits exhibiting different diameters (5, 4, and 2 to 3 nm). According to immunogold labelling experiments, approximately 70% of the non-F420-reducing hydrogenase protein molecules were located at the cell periphery; the remaining 30% were cytoplasmic. No linker particles were observed for this enzyme.

Cell Compartmentation↗

Overexpression of p53 is not associated with drug resistance of gastric cancers to 5-fluorouracil-based systemic chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent in vitro evidence has strongly suggested that most anti-cancer drugs exert their cytotoxic effects via a p53-dependent apoptosis pathway. An intact p53 molecule appears to be a prerequisite for the cancer cells to be susceptible to these drugs. In this study, we specifically examined if overexpression of p53 may confer drug resistance on human gastric cancer. METHODOLOGY: All patients were treated by an empirical HDFL regimen (weekly 24-hour infusion of 5-FU, 2,600 mg/m2 and leucovorin, 300 mg/m2) in a prospective phase II clinical trial. Among them, patients with adequate pre-chemotherapy gastric cancer tissues for immunohistochemical studies were selected for this study. A p53 DO7 monoclonal antibody was used to detect the overexpression of p53. The results were designated as "-" or "+" by the independent interpretation of two pathologists. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients, 18 men and 12 women, with a median age of 61.5 years (range: 32-78 years), were studied. There were 15 responders and 15 non-responders to HDFL chemotherapy. The percentage of p53 overexpression with positive DO7 staining was 20.0% (6 out of 30). There were no significant differences in the pertinent clinicopathologic features between the patients with positive staining of p53 and the patients with negative staining of p53. Three out of 6 (50.0%) patients with positive staining of p53 and 12 out of 24 (50.0%) patients with negative staining of p53 responded to chemotherapy, respectively (p = 1.000 by Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggested that the overexpression of p53 does not predict drug resistance to 5-FU of human gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Electron microscopy of human immunodeficiency virus.

Two cell lines of human T lymphocytes (H9 and CEM) chronically infected with isolates of human or simian immunodeficiency viruses were examined by electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy of H9 cells showed characteristic morphological changes in the cells after infection with human T cell lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-IIIB); these included loss of cell microvilli and their replacement by rounded surface protrusions. Virus particles were present over the whole cell surface, but were more numerous between, rather than on, surface protrusions. In contrast, CEM cells infected with three other isolates of the virus showed little change in morphology compared with uninfected cells; they typically had a single large aggregate of virus particles at the posterior end of the cell. Transmission electron microscopy of sections of infected cells showed budding virus in only a small proportion of cells although many had mature virus particles on their surface. The immature particles released by budding had a ring-like morphology in contrast to the mature virus with its characteristic elongated nucleoid. Surface spikes were rarely seen on sectioned virus particles, but were more obvious on the simian immunodeficiency virus than on human isolates. Negative staining of purified virus preparations showed that the peripheral dense material of immature particles had a striated structure. Surface spikes were not seen by negative staining on either immature or mature virus particles. A third type of smaller particle with surface spikes was found in all negatively stained preparations.

Animals↗

Ubiquitous soluble Mg(2+)-ATPase complex. A structural study.

We have performed a detailed structural analysis of the soluble Mg(2+)-ATPase complex purified from Xenopus laevis ovary, which is an abundant and ubiquitous homo-oligomeric protein complex located in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm, belonging to a novel multigene-family of putative Mg(2+)-ATPases. Enzyme activity staining after non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that Mg(2+)-ATPase activity of the native protein is dependent on oligomerization and could not be detected in dissociated subunits. For the native protein a sedimentation coefficient of 15.3 S and a corresponding relative molecular mass of 612,000 was determined by analytical ultracentrifugation and a relative molecular mass of 590,000 was estimated from scanning transmission electron microscopy, supporting our previous conclusion that the oligomer comprises six 97,000 Mr subunits. Conventional electron microscopy of negatively stained specimens revealed the Mg(2+)-ATPase complex to be a hexagonal molecule in its favoured "end-on" projection and a double-banded molecule in its "side-on" projection (approx. 12 nm diameter; approx. 9 nm height). In addition, dimerized complexes could be observed in negatively stained specimens, yielding pronounced hexameric images and four-banded images in their end-on and side-on orientations, respectively (approx. 12 nm diameter; approx. 18.5 nm height). Two-dimensional (2D = mono-molecular) crystals have been produced from the dimerized complexes by the negative staining carbon film technique. Hexagonal crystals with a p6 plane group symmetry were obtained from molecules in their end-on orientation and longitudinal arrays with a p2 symmetry from complexes in their side-on orientation. A low-resolution molecular model of the native protein, derived from averages of these two 2D crystals, is presented. From our results we propose oligomerization as an inherent structural principle of organization for this whole newly defined Mg(2+)-ATPase multigene-family, that includes such seemingly diverse functionally defined proteins as mammalian and yeast "vesicle fusion" and "peroxisome assembly" proteins and the product of the yeast cell cycle gene CDC48.

Animals↗

Electron microscopy and image analysis of the mitochondrial outer membrane channel, VDAC.

The channel protein in the outer membrane of Neurospora crassa mitochondria, VDAC, forms extended planar crystals on the membrane. The arrays, which are induced by phospholipase A2, are polymorphic, varying from parallelogram (P) to near-rectangular (R) geometry with increased phospholipase treatment. Computer-based analysis of projection images of negatively stained VDAC arrays indicates that the protein forms a transmembrane channel in the P array. Comparison of average images of arrays embedded in different negative stains suggests that the bore of the channel is 2-2.5 nm. The locations of functionally important lysine clusters on VDAC are inferred from the effects of succinylation on projection images of arrays negatively stained with phosphotungstate. Projection images of unstained frozen-hydrated arrays indicate the general shape of the channel and suggest each channel is formed by one 31-kDa VDAC polypeptide.

Intracellular Membranes↗