Biology and regulation of ectoplasmic specialization, an atypical adherens junction type, in the testis

Anchoring junctions are cell adhesion apparatus present in all epithelia and endothelia. They are found at the cell-cell interface (adherens junction (AJ) and desmosome) and cell-matrix interface (focal contact and hemidesmosome). In this review, we focus our discussion on AJ in particular the dynamic changes and regulation of this junction type in normal epithelia using testis as a model. There are extensive restructuring of AJ (e.g., ectoplasmic specialization, ES, a testis-specific AJ) at the Sertoli-Sertoli cell interface (basal ES) and Sertoli-elongating spermatid interface (apical ES) during the seminiferous epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis to facilitate the migration of developing germ cells across the seminiferous epithelium. Furthermore, recent findings have shown that ES also confers cell orientation and polarity in the seminiferous epithelium, illustrating that some of the functions initially ascribed to tight junctions (TJ), such as conferring cell polarity, are also part of the inherent properties of the AJ (e.g., apical ES) in the testis. The biology and regulation based on recent studies in the testis are of interest to cell biologists in the field, in particular their regulation, which perhaps is applicable to tumorigenesis.     

Horseradish peroxidase: a reliable or a misleading tool for the investigations on the origin of the proteins of the aqueous humor?

The concept of the blood-aqueous barrier is largely based on the use of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The present investigation was designed to check its reliability as a macromolecular tracer, especially with regard to the transport of plasma proteins. Rabbits were killed 5 min to 24 h after being intravenously injected with HRP. The tracer diffused rapidly, reaching the aqueous humor of the eye in 3 min or less and was detected at high concentration in the narrow space between the outer epithelial layer of the ciliary epithelium and the wall of the pervious capillaries in the stroma of the processes. HRP appeared to migrate from the blood to the posterior chamber, permeating the tight junctions, viz., the anatomical basis of the blood-aqueous barrier. It was detected at higher concentration at the anterior surface of the iris, at short time intervals; this was interpreted as penetration of the tracer from the aqueous humor of the anterior chamber. The choroid was also labeled in continuation with the reaction in the stroma of the pars plana of the ciliary body which, in turn, sometimes reached the iris root. Therefore, the pervious blood vessels of the choroid could be a source of macromolecules for the iris root. HRP also induced the formation of lysosomes in the ciliary epithelium. This can hardly be accepted as the way in which plasma proteins are physiologically transported to the aqueous humor. However, the pathway of HRP migration over short time intervals seems to be in agreement with previous research indicating that the entrance of serum albumin into the posterior chamber is the first step of its incorporation into the aqueous humor. Received: 7 June 1996 / Accepted: 15 January 1997     

Phosphorylation of liver gap junction protein by protein kinase C

The 27 kDa protein, a major component of rat liver gap junctions, was shown to be phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase C. The stoichiometry of the phosphorylation indicated that approx. 0.33 mol phosphate was incorporated per mol 27 kDa protein. Phosphorylation was entirely dependent on the presence of calcium and was virtually specific for serine residues. For comparison, the gap junction protein was also examined for its phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the extent of phosphorylation being one-tenth that exerted by protein kinase C.     

Freeze-fracture study of the lateral-line canal organ of the Japanese sea eel,Lincozymba nystromi

Summary Specializations of apical surfaces of hair cells, supporting cells and marginal cells in the lateral-line canal organ of Japanese sea eel, Lincozymba nystromi, were examined with a freeze-fracture technique. Apical surfaces of hair cells have a lower density of intramembrane particles (IMP) than those of the surrounding supporting cells. Density of IMP on the streocilia is almost the same as that on the apical surface of hair cells. Junctions between hair and supporting cells were tighter than those between two supporting cells; those between supporting and marginal cells were tighter than those between hair and supporting cells, and those between two marginal cells were the tightest in the lateral-line canal organ.     

Catecholaminergic and peptidergic nerve components of intramural ganglia in the rat heart

Summary Immunohistochemical properties of the terminal nerve network in the rat heart were assessed by use of the elution-restaining method. The colocalization of the enzymes involved in catecholamine synthesis (tyrosine hydroxylase — TH, dopamine--hydroxylase — DBH) as well as the respective distributions of the neuropeptides associated with the adrenergic nervous system (neuropeptide tyrosine — NPY, C-terminal flanking peptide of neuropeptide Y — C-PON) were studied in series of serial sections throughout the interatrial septum and the atrioventricular junction. Our data suggest that ganglion cells of sulcus terminalis as well as the epicardial ganglia enclosed between the superior vena cava and ascending aorta are VIP- and TH-negative, but neuropeptide Y- and DBH-immunoreactive. They give rise to three intraseptal nerves directed towards the specialised structures of the atrioventricular junction. These nerve fascicles contain abundant, thick TH-immunoreactive nerve fibres and scarce, thin NPY- and DBH-immunoreactive fibres. The cell bodies of the intramural ganglion cells localized between the right and left branches of the bundle of His (Moravec and Moravec 1984) are strongly TH- and DBH-immunoreactive. They are innervated by thick nerve fibres having the same immunohistochemical properties (NPY- and DBH-immunoreactivities) as those of a subpopulation of the epicardial ganglion cells and seem to supply some of the TH-immunoreactive nerve fibres directed via the intraseptal nerves to the epicardial ganglia. The existence of a multicomponent nerve network, characterized by a reciprocal innervation of the sinus node and atrioventricular node areas, is suggested by our immunohistochemical data.     

The arthropod gap junction and pseudo-gap junction: Isolation and preliminary biochemical analysis

Summary The hepatopancreas of the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, contains an unusual abundance of gap junctions, suggesting that this tissue might provide an ideal source from which to isolate the arthropod-type of gap junction. A membrane fraction obtained by subcellular fractionation of this organ contained smooth septate junctions, zonulae adhaerentes, gap junctions and pentalaminar membrane structures (pseudo-gap junctions) as determined by electron microscopy. A further enrichment of plasma membranes and gap junctions was achieved by the use of linear sucrose gradients and extraction with 5 mM NaOH. The enrichment of gap junctions correlated with the enrichment of a 31 Kd protein band on polyacrylamide gels. Extraction with 20 mM NaOH or 0.5% (w/v) Sarkosyl NL97 resulted in the disruption and/or solubilization of gap junctions. Negative staining revealed a uniform population of 9.6 nm diameter subunits within the gap junctions with an apparent sixfold symmetry. Using antisera to the major gap junctional protein of rat liver (32 Kd) and to the lens membrane protein (MP 26), we failed to detect any homologous antigenic components in the arthropod material by immunoblotting-enriched gap junction fractions or by immunofluorescence on tissue sections. The enrichment of another membrane structure (pseudo-gap junctions), closely resembling a gap junction, correlated with the enrichment of two protein bands, 17 and 16Kd, on polyacrylamide gels. These structures appeared to have originated from intracellular myelin-like figures in phagolysosomal structures. They could be distinguished from gap junctions on the basis of their thickness, detergent-alkali insolubility, and lack of association with other plasma membrane structures, such as the septate junction. Pseudo-gap junctions may be related to a class of pentalaminar contacts among membranes involved in intracellular fusion in many eukaryotic cell types. We conclude that pseudo-gap junctions and gap junctions are different cellular structures, and that gap junctions from this arthropod tissue are uniquely different from mammalian gap junctions of rat liver in their detergentalkali solubility, equilibrium density on sucrose gradients, and protein content (antigenic properties).     

Modulation of connexon densities in gap junctions of horizontal cell perikarya and axon terminals in fish retina: effects of light/dark cycles,interruption of the optic nerve and application of dopamine

Summary In the fish retina, connexon densities of gap junctions in the outer horizontal cells are modulated in response to different light or dark adaptation times and wavelengths. We have examined whether the connexon density is a suitable parameter of gap junction coupling under in situ conditions. Short-term light adaptation evoked low connexon densities, regardless of whether white or red light was used. Short-term dark adaptation evoked high connexon densities; this was more pronounced in the axon terminal than in perikaryal gap junctions. Under a 12 h red light/12 h dark cycle, a significant difference in connexon densities between the light and the dark period could be established in the gap junctions of the perikarya and axon terminals. Under a white light/dark cycle, only the gap junctions of axon terminals showed a significant difference. Crushing of the optic nerve resulted in an increase in connexon densities; this was more pronounced in axon terminals than in perikarya. Dopamine injected into the right eye of white-light-adapted animals had no effect. However, dopamine prevented the effect of optic-nerve crushing on connexon density. The reaction of axon-terminal gap junctions to different conditions thus resembles that of perikaryal gap junctions, but is more intense. Axon terminals are therefore thought to play an important role in the adaptation process.     

Current perspectives on plasmodesmata: structure and function

Recent studies on plasmodesmata have shown that these important intercellular passages for communication and transport are much more sophisticated in both structure and regulatory abilities than previously imagined. A complex, but not well understood, substructure has been revealed by a variety of increasingly reliable ultrastructural techniques. Proteinaceous particles are seen within the cytoplasmic sleeve surrounding the desmotubule. Dye-coupling studies have provided experimental evidence for the physical pathway of solute movement, supporting conclusions about substructural dimensions within plasmodesmata drawn from the ultrastructural studies. Calcium has been identified as a major factor in the regulation of intercellular communication via plasmodesmata. Evidence from studies on virus movement through plasmodesmata suggests a direct interaction between virallycoded movement proteins and plasmodesmata in the systemic spread of many viruses. There is increasing evidence, albeit indirect, that in some plant species phloem loading may involve transport of photoassimilate entirely within the symplast from mesophyll cells to the sieve element-companion cell complexes of minor veins.     

The design of single-stranded nucleic acid knots

A general strategy is described for the synthesis of single-stranded nucleic acid knots. Control of nucleic acid sequence is used to direct the formation of secondary structures that produce the target topology. The key feature of the strategy is the equation of a half-turn of double helical DNA or RNA with a node in a knot. By forming nodes from complementary DNA sequences, it appears possible to direct the assembly of any simple knot. Stabilization of individual nodes may be achieved by constructing them from long regions containing both B-DNA and Z-DNA. Control over the braiding of DNA that acts as a link between node-forming domains can be realized by condensing the nodes into well-defined DNA structures, such as extended domains of linear duplex, branched junctions, antijunctions or mesojunctions. Further topological control may be derived from the pairing of linker regions to complementary single-stranded molecules, thereby preventing them from braiding in an undesirable fashion.