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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Membrane events in the acrosomal reaction of Limulus sperm. Membrane fusion, filament-membrane particle attachment, and the source and formation of new membrane surface.

The membranes of Limulus (horseshoe crab) sperm were examined before and during the acrosomal reaction by using the technique of freeze-fracturing and thin sectioning. We focused on three areas. First, we examined stages in the fusion of the acrosomal vacuole with the cell surface. Fusion takes place in a particle-free zone which is surrounded by a circlet of particles on the P face of the plasma membrane and an underlying circlet of particles on the P face of the acrosomal vauole membrane. These circlets of particles are present before induction. Up to nine focal points of fusion occur within the particle-free zone. Second, we describe a system of fine filaments, each 30 A in diameter, which lies between the acrosomal vacuole and the plasma membrane. These filaments change their orientation as the vacuole opens, a process that takes place in less than 50 ms. Membrane particles seen on the P face of the acrosomal vacuole membrane change their orientation at the same time and in the same way as do the filaments, thus indicating that the membrane particles and filaments are probably connected. Third, we examined the source and the point of fusion of new membrane needed to cover the acrosomal process. This new membrane is almost certainly derived from the outer nuclear envelope and appears to insert into the plasma membrane in a particle-free area adjacent to an area rich in particles. The latter is the region where the particles are probably connected to the cytoplasmic filaments. The relevance of these observations in relation to the process of fertilization of this fantastic sperm is discussed.

Acrosome↗
PubMed1979

Studies of membrane fusion. IV. Fusion of HeLa cells with Sendai virus.

The Sendai virus-induced fusion of HeLa cells has been studied by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. Freeze-fracture observations confirm previous scanning electron-microscope studies (1977) and show that at 4 degrees C virus particles bind to the cell surface and that cell agglutination results from the crosslinking by virus particles of microvilli on adjacent cells. Incubation at 37 degrees C initiates a change in viral envelope structure and fusion of 'altered' virus particles with the cell plasma membrane. Fusion of a virus particle with two crosslinked cells is probably the membrane fusion event which initiates cell-cell fusion; fusion is completed as a result of virally induced cell swelling. Lateral diffusion of viral envelope components following virus-cell fusion and, in some instances, an aggregation of plasma membrane intramembrane particles occurs in swollen cells. These observations show that the mechanisms of viral envelope-cell and probably cell-cell fusion are the same as have been reported for erythrocytes. Although endocytosis of intact virus particles does occur, the specialized cell-mediated mechanism for fusion of the viral envelope with the cell plasma membrane suggests that this, and not viropexis, is the mechanism of Sendai virus infection.

Agglutination↗
PubMed1978

Inhibition of membrane fusion by suppression of lateral movement of membrane proteins.

Chicken erythrocytes were fused either by Sendai virus or by the combination of Ca2+ and ionophore A23187. Intramembrane particles and external anionic sites of cells undergoing fusion were found to acquire the ability to undergo a process of cold-induced clustering (thermotropic separation). Cationized ferritin (200 microgram/ml 5% (v/v) cell suspension) inhibited both the fusion process and the thermotropic separation of intramembrane particles and external anionic sites. The correlation between the mobility of membrane proteins and the fusion process is discussed. It is suggest that an increase in the lateral mobility of membrane proteins is a prerequisite for initiation of membrane fusion.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1979

Involvement of spectrin in membrane fusion: induction of fusion in human erythrocyte ghosts by proteolytic enzymes and its inhibition by antispectrin antibody.

In contrast to intact human erythrocytes, human erythrocyte ghosts can be agglutinated but not fused by Sendai virus. Membrane fusion can, however, be induced in virus-agglutinated erythrocyte ghosts by addition of proteolytic enzymes such as trypsin, papain, or Pronase. When erythrocyte ghosts were reacted with antispectrin antiserum, the antiserum inhibited both the induction of fusion and the proteolysis of the membrane spectrin. The correlation between the membrane fusion process and the membrane cytoskeleton is discussed.

Actins↗
PubMed1977

Studies on membrane fusion. III. The role of calcium-induced phase changes.

The interaction of phosphatidylserine vesicles with Ca2+ and Mg2+ has been examined by several techniques to study the mechanism of membrane fusion. Data are presented on the effects of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on vesicle permeability, thermotropic phase transitions and morphology determined by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. These data are discussed in relation to information concerning Ca2+ binding, charge neutralization, molecular packing, vesicle aggregation, phase transitions, phase separations and vesicle fusion. The results indicate that at Ca2+ concentrations of 1.0-2.0 mM, a highly cooperative phenomenon occurs which results in increased vesicle permeability, aggregation and fusion of the vesicles. Under these conditions the hydrocarbon chains of the lipid bilayers undergo a phase change from a fluid to a crystalline state. The aggregation of vesicles that is observed during fusion is not sufficient range of 2.0-5.0 mM induces aggregation of phosphatidylserine vesicles but no significant fusion nor a phase change. From the effect of variations in pH, temperature, Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentration on the fusion of vesicles, it is concluded that the key event leading to vesicle membrane fusion is the isothermic phase change induced by the bivalent metals. It is proposed that this phase change induces a transient destabilization of the bilayer membranes that become susceptible to fusion at domain boundaries.

Calcium↗
PubMed1977

Freeze-fracture of membrane fusions during exocytosis in pancreatic B-cells.

To examine the freeze-fracture appearance of membrane alterations at sites of exocytosis in mammalian cells, we studied the secretory granule and plasma membrane of rat pancreatic B-cells during glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Constant features observed were the scarcity of particles in secretory-granule P-fracture faces and the almost total clearance of intramembranous particles in P-and E fracture faces of the plasma membrane in areas of close apposition of these two membranes preceding fusion; also observed was the temporary persistence of particle-cleared regions after the fusion was completed. Our observations thus support the concept that membranes fuse at sites of closely apposed, particle-free regions and that the physiologically created clear areas found in freeze-fracture replicas of the plasma membrane are the hallmarks of incipient or recent membrane fusion.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Membrane fusion during secretion: cortical granule exocytosis in sex urchin eggs as studied by quick-freezing and freeze-fracture.

Exocytosis of cortical granules was observed in sea urchin eggs, either quick-frozen or chemically fixed after exposure to sperm. Fertilization produced a wave of exocytosis that began within 20 s and swept across the egg surface in the following 30 s. The front of this wave was marked by fusion of single granules at well-separated sites. Toward the rear of the wave, granule fusion became so abundant that the egg surface left with confluent patches of granule membrane. The resulting redundancy of the egg surface was accommodated by elaboration of characteristic branching microvilli, and by an intense burst of coated vesicle formation at approximately 2 min after insemination. Freeze-fracture replicas of eggs fixed with glutaraldehyde and soaked in glycerol before freezing displayed forms of granule membrane interaction with the plasma membrane which looked like what other investigators have considered to be intermediates in exocytosis. These were small disks of membrane contact or membrane fusion, which often occurred in multiple sites on one granule and also between adjacent granules. However, such membrane interactions were never found in eggs that were quick-frozen fixation, or in eggs fixed and frozen without exposure to glycerol. Glycerination of fixed material appeared to be the important variable; more concentrated glycerol produced a greater abundance of such "intermediates." Thus, these structures may be artifacts produced by dehydrating chemically fixed membranes, and may not be directly relevant to the mechanism by which membranes naturally fuse.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Transfer of glucagon receptor from liver membranes to a foreign adenylate cyclase by a membrane fusion procedure.

Previous work had demonstrated the coupling of a beta-adrenergic receptor on an erythrocyte with the adenylate cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.1] of a tissue culture cell when the two cells were fused by Sendai virus. The validity of this finding for animal tissues in general, for membrane preparations, and for peptide hormone receptors could hitherto not be assessed. Available fusion procedures worked efficiently only with certain intact cells from tissue culture and with erythrocytes. In the present work a membrane fusion method was developed that causes the transfer of the glucagon receptor from purified rat liver membranes to Friend erythroleukemia cells; even direct transfer to a membrane fraction prepared from Friend cells became feasible. It can therefore be concluded that a peptide hormone receptor in a normal tissue membrane has properties similar to those demonstrated for a beta-adrenergic receptor in an erythrocyte: it exists in the membrane as a dissociable independent unit that can readily couple with the adenylate cyclase of a foreign cell. The efficiency of the membrane fusion procedure is due to the combined action of polyethylene glycol, phospholipids, stearylamine, and ATP in a salt medium. The method promises to be applicable to membranes of various cells and tissues, and it can probably be used to analyze hormone receptors and adenylate cyclase systems in states of malfunction by transfer to their respective counterpart in a normal cell membrane. Studies in biochemical hybridization of membrane components need not be limited to hormone activation of adenylate cyclase. With the aid of the membrane fusion method, this approach could be applied to any dissociable multicomponent system in biological membranes.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1978

Thermal anomalies in acetylcholine release: evidence for control of membrane fusion by interfacial water.

Thermal anomalies in the rate of acetylcholine release from electrically stimulated guinea-pig ileum have been demonstrated at 18 degrees C and 30 degrees C. Because similar anomalies occur in many aqueous systems where interfacial water plays a dominant role, it is concluded that the anomalies in acetylcholine secretion may indicate domination of the release process by interfacial water. Sharp breaks in the Arrhenius plots at the temperatures of the anomalies separate non-linear portions of positive gradient from a linear portion of negative gradient. The negative curve probably results from the rate of a competitive reaction (such as the rate of removal of calcium from the nerve terminal) while the positive portions may arise from cooperative H-bonding of water molecules. It is proposed that water-dominated phase transitions in membrane lipids may also mediate the effects of both temperature and calcium ions on neurotransmitter release in particular and membrane fusion in general.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1979

Diacylglycerol metabolism in mast cells: a potential role in membrane fusion and arachidonic acid release.

Purified rat peritoneal mast cells stimulated with the polycationic histamine-releasing agent compound 48/80 demonstrated a two- to four-fold increase in cellular levels of 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) within 1 min as detected by radioactive labeling and direct quantitation experiments. When 2-[1-14C]arachidonoyl-DAG was incubated in the presence of mast-cell homogenates, a rapid conversion to free arachidonate, and to a lesser extent, to monoacylglycerol, triglyceride, and phospholipid was observed. The release of arachidonate was proportional to the amount of broken-cell preparation added and the time of incubation, was prevented by preheating mast-cell preparations, and did not occur when 1-[1-14C]arachidonoyl-phosphatidylcholine was used as substrate, suggesting that the degradation was mediated by an enzyme with Dag-lipase activity. Although much work remains to be done to clarify the precise role of DAG in mast cells, DAG metabolism may be involved in secretion by generating substances which may faciliate membrane fusion and also in arachidonic acid-derived mediator formation by liberating esterified arachidonic acid from mast-cell lipids. Taken together, these studies indicate that the formation of DAG may play a central role in mast-cell function.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Freeze-fracture of membrane fusions in phagocytosing polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Freeze-fracture of rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the process of phagocytosing yeast cells shows changes in storage granule and phagosome membranes essentially similar to those described in mammalian secretroy cells during exocytosis. These changes consist of the clearing of intramembrane particle from limited zones of the fusing granule and phagosome membranes. After the completion of fusion, which leads to the incorporation of storage granule membrane into the phagosome membrane, particle-free patches are no longer visible, but the phagosome membrane contains some loose aggregates of particles. These data suggest that intracellular membrane fusion in polymorphonuclear leukocytes occurs through interaction of protein-depleted areas of the involved membranes.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Studies of membrane fusion. I. Paramyxovirus-induced cell fusion, a scanning electron-microscope study.

Fusion of erythrocytes and HeLa cells with Sendai and Newcastle disease viruses has been studied by scanning electron microscopy. Most virus particles are spherical but vary in diameter from approximately 200 to approximately 600 nm. At 4 degrees C virus particles bind randomly to the cell surface and at high cell densities cross-linking of adjacent cells by virus particles results in cell agglutination. Cell-cell fusion takes place when the agglutinated cell suspension is warmed to 37 degrees C. Fusion is initiated at sites of cell-cell contact and is accompanied in all cases by cell swelling. In the case of suspension HeLa cells, virally mediated cell swelling involves an 'unfolding' of cell surface microvilli and results in the formation of smooth-surfaced single or fused cells. With erythrocytes, swelling results in haemolysis. There is a dramatic reduction in the numbers of virus particles bound to cells following fusion.

Cell Aggregation↗
PubMed1978

Membrane fusion as a mechanism of simian virus 40 entry into different cellular compartments.

Permissive and nonpermissive simian virus 40 (SV40)-infected cells were ultrastructurally analyzed. Viral particles were found in the cytoplasm, rough endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope, lysosomes, and mitochondria. Upon entering the cell the virion obtains a tight membrane envelope. It seems to be either released from the envelope upon fusion with other membranes of the cell or aggregated into tubular membrane specializations upon fusion with other membrane-enveloped particles. Reconstructed morphological sequences and the finding of SV40 in different spaces of the cell suggest that entry of SV40 into the different compartments and eventually into the site of replication is facilitated by its capacity for being enveloped by a variety of membranes (notably the cell membrane and the nuclear membrane) and the sequential fusion and fission of these membranes.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1979

Studies of membrane fusion. V. Fusion of erythrocytes with non-haemolytic Sendai virus.

The fusion of human erythrocytes with non-haemolytic '1-day' Sendai virus has been studied by electron microscopy. The mechanism of viral envelope-cell fusion is the same as that described previously for haemolytic '3-day' Sendai virus except that fusion is frequently arrested at an initial stage when 2 segments of smooth linear viral membrane fuse and become incorporated into the erythrocyte membrane. After longer periods of incubation at 37 degrees C, in addition to many partly fused virus particles, long (up to 4 micrometer) lengths of smooth linear viral membrane are seen within the erythrocyte membrane which arise by linear aggregation of shorter (approximately 0.25 micrometer long) segments of smooth linear membrane derived from individual fused viral envelopes. Cell-Cell fusion, as a result of the fusion of a viral envelope with 2 adjacent erythrocytes also occurs but, in the absence of cell swelling, fusion is arrested at this stage with cells joined by one (or more) small cytoplasmic bridges. Typical fused cells are produced if such cells are swollen with hypotonic buffer. These observations provide further evidence that membrane fusion and cell swelling are distinct events in cell fusion and that cell swelling is the driving force both for completing the incorporation of the viral envelope into the cell membrane and for expanding cells connected by small cytoplasmic bridges to form spherical fused cells. Little lateral diffusion of viral envelope components occurs in the absence of cell swelling; in fact, some aggregation of components occurs. Comparison with previous studies using haemolytic '3-day' Sendai virus suggests that virally induced cell swelling perturbs membrane structure so as to allow the rapid lateral diffusion of integrated viral envelope components.

Cell Fusion↗
PubMed1977

Membrane fusion: studies with a calcium-sensitive dye, arsenazo III, in liposomes.

Fusion between vesicles, cells, or organelles may be defined as confluence of two membrane-bound compartments without access of their solutes to external milieu. To study fusion by this criterion, we have trapped the metallochromic calcium-sensitive dye, arsenazo III (AIII), partially calcium-saturated (AIII-Ca) in one population of liposomes (phoshatidylcholine 90:dicetylphosphate 10), and ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetate (EGTA) in a second. In such mixtures, interaction of EGTA with AIII-Ca was measured by a large color shift from blue leads to red (decreased absorbance at 660 nm). Fusion of liposomes (but also lysis and diffusion across the membranes) was proportional to these decrements. The exogenous "fusogens," lysolecithin and retinol, were added to liposomes for 5-24 hr at 37 degrees; after rechromatography, measurements were made of total dye, fraction of dye converted from AIII-Ca to AIII, and total lipid. After correction for lysis and diffusion, lysolecithin (200 microng/ml) induced 23% fusion (volume of AIII liposomes confluent with EGTA liposomes) and retinol (300 microng/ml) induced 15%. With one molar percent cortisol (a membrane stabilizer) in the liposome membranes, fusion induced by fusogens was reduced 2-fold. Neither multi-nor unilamellar liposomes fused with each other in the absence of exogenous fusogens, despite wide variations in molar lipid ratios. Results suggest that liposome-liposome fusion is a slow process requiring exogenous fusogens, which may depend upon contributions of other membrane constituents to mimic closely the fusion of natural membranes.

Arsenicals↗