The distribution of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in acinar cells of rat pancreas revealed with the freeze-fracture replica labeling method

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate PI(4,5)P(2)] is a phospholipid that has been implicated in multiple cellular activities. The distribution of PI(4,5)P(2) has been analyzed extensively using live imaging of the GFP-coupled phospholipase C-δ1 pleckstrin homology domain in cultured cell lines. However, technical difficulties have prevented the study of PI(4,5)P(2) in cells of in vivo tissues. We recently developed a method to analyze the nanoscale distribution of PI(4,5)P(2) in cultured cells by using the quick-freezing and freeze-fracture replica labeling method. In principle, this method can be applied to any cell because it does not require the expression of artificial probes. In the present study, we modified the method to study cells of in vivo tissues and applied it to pancreatic exocrine acinar cells of the rat. We found that PI(4,5)P(2) in the plasma membrane is distributed in an equivalent density in the apical and basolateral domains, but exists in a significantly higher concentration in the gap junction. The intracellular organelles did not show labeling for PI(4,5)P(2). The results are novel or different from the reported distribution patterns in cell lines and highlight the importance of studying cells differentiated in vivo.