The use of phospholipid film for shaping cell cultures.
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Both the commitment event and the modality of cell death in photodynamic therapy (PDT) remain poorly defined. We report that PDT with endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associating hypericin leads to an immediate loss of SERCA2 protein levels, causing disruption of Ca2+ homeostasis and cell death. Protection of SERCA2 protein rescues ER-Ca2+ levels and prevents cell death, suggesting that SERCA2 photodestruction with consequent incapability of the ER to maintain intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis is causal to cell killing. Apoptosis is rapidly initiated after ER-Ca2+ depletion and strictly requires the BAX/BAK gateway at the mitochondria. Bax-/-Bak-/- double-knockout (DKO) cells are protected from apoptosis but undergo autophagy-associated cell death as revealed by electron microscopy and biochemical analysis. Autophagy inhibitors, but not caspase antagonists, significantly reduce death of DKO cells, suggesting that sustained autophagy is lethal. Thus, following ER photodamage and consequent disruption of Ca2+ homeostasis, BAX and BAK proteins model PDT-mediated cell killing, which is executed through apoptosis in their presence or via an autophagic pathway in their absence.
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The transducing bacteriophage lambda pBS10 carries a small cluster of Escherichia coli penicillin-binding protein/cell shape genes, including pbpA, rodA, and dacA. Deletion mapping and subcloning showed that these genes, and the gene for a cytoplasmic membrane protein of molecular weight 54,000, are located within a 5.6-kilobase region and are probably contiguous. The dacA gene, which codes for penicillin-binding protein 5, was cloned on a 1.5-kilobase fragment into a low-copy-number plasmid vector, but insertion into high-copy-number plasmids produced deleterious effects on bacterial growth, and the plasmids could not be stably maintained. The direction of transcription of dacA was determined. The rodA gene was cloned on a 1.6-kilobase fragment into both low- and high-copy-number plasmids, and the identification of its gene product is described in the accompanying paper (Stoker et al., J. Bacteriol. 155:854-859). The pbpA gene, which codes for penicillin-binding protein 2, was cloned on a 3.7-kilobase fragment in low-copy-number plasmids, but insertion of the fragment into high-copy-number plasmids resulted in deleterious effects on bacterial growth, and the plasmids could not be stably maintained.
Human and rabbit corneas were stored at 4 degrees C in K-Sol with and without antioxidants (ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione, alpha-tocopherol, and retinol acetate) for two to three weeks. All the corneas were then examined visually and by scanning electron microscopy. They appeared clear and slightly oedematous. Scanning electron micrographs were used to grade corneal endothelial cell morphology in a masked manner in terms of cell shape, cell borders, cell swelling, and apical holes. Corneas stored in K-Sol without antioxidants showed changes in cell shape, cell borders, and apical holes. Human corneas showed more morphological changes than rabbit corneas. The results suggest that antioxidants in K-Sol have an important role in the preservation of endothelial cell morphology.
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PURPOSE: Dedifferentiation of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is a crucial event in the pathogenesis of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). This study was designed to improve the understanding of RPE cell dedifferentiation in vitro. The protein expression pattern of native differentiated RPE cells was compared with that of cultured, thereby dedifferentiated, RPE cells. METHODS: Differentiated native human RPE cells and monolayers of dedifferentiated cultured primary human RPE cells were processed for two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis. Total cellular proteins were separated by isoelectric focusing using immobilized pH gradients (IPG 3-10) and electrophoresis on 9% to 15% gradient polyacrylamide gels. Proteins were visualized by silver staining. Silver-stained gel spots were excised, digested in situ, and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectroscopy (MS). The resultant peptide mass fingerprints were searched against the public domain NCBInr, MSDB, and EnsemblC databases to identify the respective proteins. RESULTS: One hundred seventy nine protein spots were analyzed and classified into functional categories. Proteins associated with highly specialized functions of the RPE, which are required for interaction with photoreceptor cells, including RPE65, cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP), and cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP), were absent in dedifferentiated cultured RPE cells, whereas proteins involved in phagocytosis and exocytosis, including cathepsin D and clathrin were still present. Dedifferentiated RPE cells displayed a strong shift toward increased expression of proteins associated with cell shape, cell adhesion, and stress fiber formation, including cytokeratin 19, gelsolin, and tropomyosins, and also acquired increased expression of factors involved in translation and tumorigenic signal transduction such as annexin I and translation initiation factor (eIF)-5A. CONCLUSIONS: Dedifferentiation of human RPE cells in vitro results in downregulation of proteins associated with highly specialized functions of the RPE and induces the differential expression of proteins related to cytoskeleton organization, cell shape, cell migration, and mediation of proliferative signal transduction. These in vitro data suggest that the dedifferentiated status of RPE cells per se may initiate PVR. Further investigation of candidate proteins may identify additional targets for treatment or prevention of diseases associated with RPE dedifferentiation.
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Recently, knowledge about the role of astrocytes in the brain has increased substantially. As a result we have had to rethink old views regarding how the brain works at the cellular level. Neurons can no longer be regarded as the only cell types of functional significance. The picture instead appears to be far more complex, with an ongoing exchange of information between different cell types, and this interaction is suggested to be particularly important between neurons and astrocytes. Astrocytes express receptors for different classes of neurotransmitters, and have both voltage and receptor operated ion channels. Through active uptake and release of ions, neurotransmitters and water they control the brain interstitium. Intercellular communication via transfer of neuroactive substances through gap junctions makes it possible to coordinate different activities in large areas of the brain. Dysfunction of astrocytic physiology is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis and progress of various neurological disorders such as epilepsy, stroke and cerebral edema.
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Erythrocyte protein phosphorylation was examined in membrane preparations of 25 patients with hereditary spherocytosis (HS). Reduced phosphorylation in substrate polypeptides was observed in 22 HS erythrocyte membranes for both splenectomized and nonsplenectomized patients. A reduction in labeling was also observed in a polypeptide which was labeled only in the presence of cAMP. No reduction was observed in membranes from immunologically acquired spherocytosis cells or from cells from patients with hereditary elliptocytosis. Heating membranes to 45 degrees C caused negligible inhibition of membrane protein phosphorylation, while heating to 50 degrees C extensively inhibited phosphorylation. Dephosphorylation of membrane protein that occurred in isolated membranes was not dependent upon cAMP.
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