Imatinib Alters Agonists-mediated Cytoskeletal Biomechanics in Lung Endothelium.

The endothelium serves as a size-selective barrier and tightly controls the fluid exchange from the circulation to the surrounding tissues. In this study, a multiplexed microscopy characterization is developed to study the spatio-temporal effects of Abl kinases on endothelial cytoskeletal structure using AFM, SEM, and immunofluorescence. Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) produces significant endothelial barrier enhancement by means of peripheral actin rearrangement. However, Abl kinase inhibition by imatinib reduces rapid redistribution of the important cytoskeletal proteins to the periphery and their association with the cortical actin ring. Herein, it moderates the thickness of the cortical actin ring, and diminishes the increase in elastic modulus at the periphery and cytoplasm. These findings demonstrate that imatinib attenuates multiple cytoskeletal changes associated with S1P-mediated endothelial barrier enhancement and suggest a novel role for Abl kinases in mediating these S1P effects. These observations bridge the gap between molecule dynamics, structure complexity and function connectivity across varied length-scales to improve our understanding on human pulmonary endothelial barrier regulation. Moreover, our study suggests a framework for understanding form-function relationships in other biomechanical subsystems, wherein complex hierarchical organization programmed from the molecular scale to the cellular and tissue levels has an intimate relationship to the overall physiological function.

Imaging and elemental mapping of biological specimens with a dual-EDS dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope.

A dedicated analytical scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with dual energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) detectors has been designed for complementary high performance imaging as well as high sensitivity elemental analysis and mapping of biological structures. The performance of this new design, based on a Hitachi HD-2300A model, was evaluated using a variety of biological specimens. With three imaging detectors, both the surface and internal structure of cells can be examined simultaneously. The whole-cell elemental mapping, especially of heavier metal species that have low cross-section for electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), can be faithfully obtained. Optimization of STEM imaging conditions is applied to thick sections as well as thin sections of biological cells under low-dose conditions at room and cryogenic temperatures. Such multimodal capabilities applied to soft/biological structures usher a new era for analytical studies in biological systems.

Immuno-EM using colloidal metal nanoparticles and electron spectroscopic imaging for co-localization at high spatial resolution.

Multiple-labelling immuno-EM is a powerful tool for localizing and co-localizing different antigens simultaneously in cells and tissues at high spatial resolution. Commonly used labels for this purpose are differently sized gold spheres. A comparison of results obtained with differently sized markers is often difficult, because the diameters of markers influence labelling efficiency. In the current study, we investigate a method for high-resolution multiple-labelling immuno-EM, using equally sized colloidal markers made of different metals. Energy filtering transmission electron microscopy is used to differentiate particles based on elemental composition. The labels consist of colloidal gold, palladium and platinum-core gold-shell particles of approximately 6 nm in diameter, which are conjugated to different primary antibodies. Applicability of the electron spectroscopic imaging, methodology is demonstrated by labelling of actin, alpha-actinin and myosin on ultra-thin cryosections of skeletal muscle tissue.

Cytometric, morphologic and enzymatic characterisation of haemocytes in Anodonta cygnea.

The haemocytes in bivalve mussels are involved in many processes such as lesion repair, shell repair, elimination of small particles and toxic substances. In Anodonta cygnea there are two categories of haemolymph cells, the granulocytes and hyalinocytes. Two groups of cells were identified by flow cytometry and morphological studies: one with larger size and granularity representing 75%, and another group of cells (25%) which were approximately half the size. The cytochemical reactions showed peroxidase activity in the larger cells and a weak prophenoloxidase activity in the smaller cells. These characteristics suggest that the most common haemocytes are granulocytes and hyalinocytes are less common. Enzymatic studies showed clear activities of few enzymes in different compartments of the mantle. Both haemocytes presented significant variations for alpha-manosidase and beta-glucurosidase activities depending on the acid or alkaline pH. Almost all were sensitive to the pH changes, mainly the beta-galactosidase in the haemolymph plasma. On the contrary, the same enzymatic analysis in the extrapallial elements showed more stabilised activities. The simulation of acidic and alkaline condition with the observation of significant morphological and enzymatic activity changes, allow us to speculate some functional role, mainly in the haemolymph elements. The granulocytes may be speculated to have intense involvement in the digestion of small residues with the formation of calcareous stores while the hyalinocytes are more responsible for the elimination of soluble cytotoxic compounds.

Ribosomes in the squid giant axon.

Ribosome clusters, referred to as endoaxoplasmic plaques, were documented and quantitatively analyzed in the squid giant axon at the light and electron microscopic levels. The methods included nonspecific high affinity fluorescence staining of RNA by YOYO-1, specific immunofluorescence labeling of ribosomal RNA, electron energy loss spectroscopic mapping of ribosomal phosphorus, and conventional transmission electron microscopy. The endoaxoplasmic plaques were sharply defined, oval in shape, and less than 2 microm in diameter. While they were very numerous in the postsynaptic axonal area of the giant synapse, the frequency of occurrence was much lower in the peripheral giant axon, with a density of about 1 plaque/1000 microm3. Their distribution was random within axoplasm, with no preferential localization near the membrane. The several thousand ribosomes in a plaque usually were not membrane bound, but vesicular structures were observed in or near plaques; plaques were often surrounded by mitochondria. We conclude that ribosomes, a requisite machinery for protein synthesis, are present in the squid giant axon in discrete configurations.

Nucleo-cytoplasmic translocation of histone H1 during the HeLa cell cycle.

The distribution of unphosphorylated and phosphorylated isoforms of linker histone H1 protein was examined during the cell cycle of HeLa cells by quantitative light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Immunolabeling with a monoclonal antibody directed against the globular domain of H1 (anti-H1), which recognized predominantly unphosphorylated H1, and a polyclonal antibody directed against hyperphosphorylated H1 (anti-H1P) revealed that: (1) H1 immunolabeling was lowest at the start of S phase (S(S)), and then increased progressively during the middle (S(i)) to end of S phase (S(e)), mitosis (M) and telophase (T) to reach the highest level in G1 phase, at which time there was a sudden reduction in H1 immunolabeling before the start of S phase; (2) H1P immunolabeling paralleled this progressive increase, but only until M phase, after which it abruptly disappeared and was virtually absent in G1; (3) H1P immunolabeling in S and M phase was found on both nuclear chromatin or chromosomes and in the cytoplasm, while H1 immunolabeling was found only on nuclear chromatin or chromosomes where it was predominantly localized on condensed chromatin. Our study indicates that H1 dissociates from the DNA to a large extent during replication and chromosome condensation, but not in interphase when cells are transcriptionally active.

Protein synthesizing units in presynaptic and postsynaptic domains of squid neurons.

Putative protein synthesizing domains, called plaques, are characterized in the squid giant synapse and axon and in terminals of squid photoreceptor neurons. Plaques are oval-shaped formations of about 1 microm in size, which (1) generate signals that have spectroscopic electron energy loss characteristics of ribosomes, (2) exhibit ribonuclease-sensitive binding of YOYO-1, a fluorescent RNA/DNA dye, and (3) in part hybridize with a poly(dT) oligonucleotide. In the giant synapse plaques are abundant in the postsynaptic area, but are absent in the presynaptic terminal. In the cortical layer of the optic lobes, plaques are localized in the large carrot-shaped presynaptic terminals of photoreceptor neurons, where they are surrounded by synaptic vesicles and mitochondria. Biochemical and autoradiographic data have documented that the protein synthetic activity of squid optic lobe synaptosomes is largely due to the presynaptic terminals of the photoreceptor neurons. The identification of ribosomes and poly(A+)-mRNA in the plaques indicates that these structures are sites of local protein synthesis in synaptic domains.