Fine structural organization of a non-reticulate plant cell nucleus

We studied the fine structural organization of the meristematic nucleus in roots of Lycopesicon esculentum (tomato) using ultracytochemical and immunocytochemical approaches. The nucleus has a non-reticulate (i.e. low DNA content) structure whose supramolecular organization differs in some respects from that in reticulate nuclei, principally in the organization of the chromocentres associated with the nuclear envelope, with which centromeric structures appear to be associated. The main difference at the nucleolar level is found in the fibrillar centres, which have a low amount of DNA labelling and in which inclusions of condensed chromatin are present only very rarely. The distribution of nucleolar DNA amongst the nucleolar compartments is similar to that in reticulate nucleoli as demonstrated using an anti-DNA monoclonal antibody. Tomato nuclei have nucleolus-associated bodies or karyosomes, like other plant species with a low DNA content and non-reticulate nuclear organization. The nuclear ribonucleoprotein structures in the inter- and perichromatin regions, namely inter- and perichromatin fibrils and granules, show similar ultrastructural and cytochemical characteristics in both types of nuclei.Abbreviations NAC nucleolus associated chromatin - CES centromeric structures - NOR nucleolar organizing region - NAB nucleolus associated body - IG interchromatin granules - RNP ribonucleoprotein - Mab monoclonal antibody by M.F. Trendelenburg     

多头绒泡菌SC35类蛋白的免疫电镜研究

经抗SC35单克隆抗体标记后,在电子显微镜下观察到多头绒泡菌S、G2、前期、中期和后末期细胞核中存在大量金颗粒,说明多头绒泡菌细胞核含有SC35类蛋白。在G2期和前期时,SC35类蛋白主要分布在细胞核的核仁区域和非核仁区域的染色质间区域;中期和后-末期时,SC35类蛋白主要分布在细胞核内染色体间区域;说明染色质(体)间区域和核仁区域是富含SC35类蛋白的区域。对核仁的进一步观察指出,在核仁中金颗粒主要分布在DFC,FC中的金颗粒很少,说明在核仁中SC35类蛋白主要存在于DFC组分中。     

蚕豆细胞核仁和核质中剪接因子SC35的定位研究

SC35 is a non-snRNP spliceosome component purified from mammalian cells by Fu and Maniatis in 1990. In vitro splicing assays showed that SC35 plays a key role in splicing site selection and ATP-dependent pre-spliceosome assembly. In the mammalian nucleus, SC35 has been localized to distinct and dynamic nuclear domains: immunofluorescence observations revealed the presence of SC35 in speckles distributed in various regions throughout the nucleoplasm, which, as identified with immunoelectron microscopy, correspond to the interchromatin granules (IGs) and perichromatin fibrils (PFs). However, there has been no report regarding the presence and distribution pattern of SC35 in higher plant nuclei. Engage in such studies will surely contribute to our understanding of RNA processing and the spatial organization or structure basis of this process in higher plant. In this article, we studied the distribution pattern of SC35 in the nucleus of the root meristematic cells of Vicia faba by immunoelectron microscopy. After immunolabeling with anti-SC35 mAb and protein A-colloidal gold, IGs and PFs in the nucleoplasm and dense fibrillar component (DFC) of the nucleolus were heavily labeled with gold particles, while only a few of the gold particles were found in fibrillar centers (FC) and nucleolar vacuoles (NV) of the nucleolus and the central domains of the condensed chromatin. Densities of gold particles in the areas of DFC and the area of IGs plus PFs were 65.89/microns 2 and 36.28/microns 2 respectively, much higher than that of the central domain of condensed chromatin and that of FC plus NV, which were only 5.90/microns 2 and 6.26/microns 2 respectively. This indicates that DFC of the nucleolus and the area of IGs plus PFs of the nucleoplasm are enriched with SC35 or SC35-like protein. The distribution pattern of SC35 or SC35-like protein in the nucleoplasm of Vicia faba is similar to that of the mammalian nuclei. To the authors' knowledge, it is a new finding that SC35 or SC35-like protein exists in the nucleolus.     

Immunocytochemical localization of nuclear antigens in the unicellular green alga,Chlamydomonas reinhardtii,processed by cryofixation and freeze-substitution

Summary We describe the preparation of monoclonal antibodies to nuclear antigens in the green alga,Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and their localization at the light and electron microscope level. Supernatants from hybridomas were screened by the ELISA method and the four antibodies giving the strongest signal were subjected to further analysis. At the LM level immunogold silver staining was used on semi-thick resinless sections. We have examined at the EM level the distribution of these antigens by post-embedding immunocytochemical techniques on sections of conventionally fixed specimens compared to cryofixed and freeze-substituted ones. Enhanced ultrastructural preservation was observed in cells which were cryofixed, freeze-substituted and embedded at –35°C in Lowicryl K4M. Different preparative procedures involving cryofixation and substitution are described. Of the four antibodies three were localized under light and electron microscopy. All three were distributed in the interchromatin space. One of these antigens (QUL4D2, 54 kDa) is also found in the dense fibrillar component and fibrillar centers of the nucleolus.Abbreviations DFC dense fibrillar component - EM electron microscope - FC fibrillar center - GAM5 goat anti-mouse IgM coupled to 5 nm colloidal gold - Ig immunoglobulin - LM light microscope - MAb monoclonal antibody - PAG protein A-gold - PBS phosphate buffered saline - PEG polyethylene glycol     

小麦核仁在细胞周期中的变化

运用Bernhard染色方法研究了小麦根端分生组织细胞核仁在细胞周期中的变化。结果显示,间期核仁染色很深,能够区分出纤维中心（FC）、致密纤维组分（DFC）和颗粒组分（G）,而染色质被漂白,在染色质间可以观察到细小的RNP颗粒。进入前期,在染色质的边缘有小的RNP颗粒分布。中期,染色体周边分布着类似于间期核仁的深染的大RNP颗粒,形成一个不完全连续的“鞘”状结构;在染色体内部看不到类似核仁的深染颗粒。到了后期时,仍可见RNP“鞘”状结构的存在。进入末期,这些RNP植物逐渐由“鞘”脱离,最后参与新核仁的形成。这些结果表明,核仁解体后的物质直接转移到了中期染色的表面,并形成不连续的表层,没有进入染色体的内部。     

TEM cytochemical study of the localization of phospholipids in interphase chromatin in rat hepatocytes.

The electron microscopy cytochemical detection of phospholipids in well-defined areas in the interphase nuclei of hepatocytes has been obtained by the acid haematein test, modified for electron microscopy and by the phospholipase A2-colloidal gold method. The specificity of both methods were controlled by enzymatic digestion with phospholipase. The main intra-nuclear localization of phospholipids is at the border between the condensed and dispersed chromatin, where non-ribosomal RNA is also revealed by RNase-gold labelling. Phospholipids are detected, too, over the clusters of interchromatin granules and in the fibrillar component of the nucleolus.     

TEM cytochemical study of the localization of phospholipids in interphase chromatin in rat hepatocytes

Summary The electron microscopy cytochemical detection of phospholipids in well-defined areas in the interphase nuclei of hepatocytes has been obtained by the acid haematein test, modified for electron microscopy and by the phospholipase A2-colloidal gold method. The specificity of both methods were controlled by enzymatic digestion with phospholipase. The main intra-nuclear localization of phospholipids is at the border between the condensed and dispersed chromatin, where non-ribosomal RNA is also revealed by RNase-gold labelling. Phospholipids are detected, too, over the clusters of interchromatin granules and in the fibrillar component of the nucleolus.     

Evidence from studies on segregated nucleoli that nucleolar silver staining proteins C23 and B23 are in the fibrillar component

Several procedures for the silver staining of nucleoli have been evaluated at the electron microscopic level to determine optimal conditions for ultrastructural preservation and staining specificity. The present study shows that a brief fixation with 1% buffered formaldehyde followed by methanol: acetic acid (3 : 1) fixation yielded optimal preservation and silver staining of nucleoli. Using this procedure for electron microscopic studies of interphase nucleoli, it was found that the punctate silver grains observed by light microscopy were composed of fine silver granules, of approx. 100 Å diameter, organized in discrete clusters. In similar studies on adriamycin-induced segregated nucleoli, it was observed that the silver staining reaction was mainly limited to the fibrillar portion of the nucleolus. Accordingly, nucleolar proteins C23 and B23, found earlier to be the major silver binding proteins of the nucleolus, are mainly concentrated in the fibrillar nucleolar component.     

Detection by bismuth staining of highly phosphorylated nucleo-proteins in plants. Determination of its specificity by X-ray microanalysis,SDS-PAGE and immunological analysis

Summary— Staining with bismuth salts after glutaraldehyde fixation is a very useful technique for preferential detection of phosphorylated nucleoproteins in mammalians and insects. In the present work we report an adaptation of this method for plant nuclei: staining with bismuth salts either in tissue blocks before embedding, or on thin sections of acrylic resin. Both procedures are highly reproducible and give the same pattern of staining in the nuclei in situ or isolated at the electron microscope. The specificity of bismuth binding to the dense nucleolar fibrillar component and interchromatin granules is proven by X-ray microanalysis. The nuclear proteins which bind bismuth have been identified by bismuth and immunostains of blots from total nuclear proteins. This technique is a very useful and specific cytochemical tool for studying nuclear organization and functions in plants.     

Nuclear and nucleolar effect of experimental endotoxemia on rabbit hepatocytes

Nuclear and nucleolar ultrastructure was studied in hepatocytes of rabbits intravenously injected with a single dose of endotoxin to provide more information on the ultrastructural changes of hepatocytes produced by the endotoxemia. The observed changes were represented by a clumping of interchromatin granules, alteration of nucleolar architecture and formation of rodlet-like intranuclear inclusions. The alteration of the nucleolar architecture was characterized by loosely arranged rope-like nucleolonemata, partial retraction of the perinucleolar chromatin and increased numbers of fibrillar centers.     

Dynamic change and derivation process of FC and DFC through G1, S and G2 phases in HeLa cells

In order to get a deeper understanding of the relationship between nucleolus structure and its function, the dynamic change and derivation of FC (fibrillar center) and DFC (dense fibrillar component) through interphase were investigated in HeLa cells synchronized at the ultrastructural level. The results showed that there was a process of FC and DFC derivation in the nucleolus of HeLa cells during interphase. In G1 phase there were a few big FCs in the nucleolus of the HeLa cell. In S phase DFC around the FC got thickened and the configuration of the DFC changed. A lot of tiny FCs were derived from parts of the thickened DFC. We called the FC and DFC formed in G1 phase as primary FC (pri-FC) and primary DFC (pri-DFC) and the FC and DFC derived from the thickened pri-DFC as secondary FC (sec-FC) and secondary DFC (sec-DFC). In G2 phase sec-FC and sec-DFC were gradually separated from pri-DFC and scattered evenly in the nucleolus. Few large pri-FCs coexisted with numerous tiny sec-FCs in the nucleolus of HeLa cells in G2 phase. Based on the results of our observation, we suggest here a model of the dynamic change and the process of derivation of FC and DFC through interphase.     

Ultrastructural studies of H-1 parvovirus replication. II. Induced changes in the deoxyribonucleoprotein and ribonucleoprotein components of human NB cell nuclei.

Ultrastructural changes in the nuclear DNP and RNP components of human NB cells induced by synchronous infection with H-1 parvovirus were studied using Bernhard's EDTA method of staining. Early events (12 h after infection) occurred in the nucleolus. Chromatin within the nucleolar fibrous centers condensed thereby converting the centers to vacuoles. DNP associated with the granular nucleolonema also contracted markedly, causing a disruption of this skein-like structure; it then migrated peripherally forming a heterochromatic cortex surrounding the granular nucleolar vestige. Subsequently (24–36 h after inoculation), condensation of extranucleolar chromatin took place concurrently with the accumulation of extensive amounts of interchromatin granules in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Conglomerates of perichromatin fibrils and interchromatin granules were frequently juxtapposed to the condensing chromatin. Large clumps of interchromatin granules were also closely associated with fragmenting nucleoli, and the apparent transformation of nucleolar granules into interchromatin granules was observed. Accumulation of H-1 protein on chromatin evidently fostered its condensation resulting in the pathology described.     

Bismuth staining of a nucleolar protein

A major nucleolar protein in Chinese hamster ovary cells with a molecular weight (MW) of 100 kD has been found to stain selectively with the bismuth tartrate technique of Locke & Huie [19]. After glutaraldehyde fixation and bismuth staining of electrophoretic transfers of total nucleolar proteins separated by SDS-PAGE, a single band corresponding to the 100 kD protein is revealed. When the technique is applied to whole cells, small punctate regions of the nucleoli are strongly stained. At the ultrastructural level, bismuth selectively contrasts the fibrillar centers and the adjoining cords of the dense fibrillar component. The remainder of the dense fibrillar component is not stained. It is proposed that the high phosphorylation level of the 100 kD protein is responsible for its glutaraldehyde-insensitive bismuth staining. The concentration of this protein in certain localized regions of the nucleolus suggests that it plays a metabolic rather than a structural role.     

Comparative pyrimidine- and purine-specific RNAse-gold labeling on pancreatic acinar cells and isolated hepatocytes.

We applied the enzyme-gold approach to investigate the potential of various ribonucleases displaying different affinities for ultrastructural localization of particular RNA molecules. Five specific ribonucleases were used: three from a pancreatic source, RNAses A, B, and S with affinities for pyrimidine bases; and two from Aspergillus oryzae, RNAses T1 and T2 specific for purine bases. Conditions required for preparing each RNAse-gold complex, as well as for obtaining specific labelings, were determined. Application of the probes on thin sections of pancreatic acinar cells yielded labeling patterns that differed according to the enzyme used. Pancreatic RNAses labeled mostly the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the nucleolus, whereas fungal RNAses labeled more intensely the interchromatin space and the nucleolus, the rough endoplasmic reticulum being labeled to a lesser extent. Areas rich in interchromatin granules were intensely labeled by the RNAses T1 and T2. This was confirmed on DRB-treated hepatocytes, which displayed large clusters of interchromatin granules. Perichromatin granules were labeled by the RNAse A- and T1-gold complexes. These results provide a strong indication for the presence of RNA molecules in both types of granules. Nuclear pores were labeled, particularly by the RNAses T1 and T2, thus supporting the hypothesis for the site of RNA transit between nucleus and cytoplasm. The differences in patterns of labeling among the various enzyme-gold complexes could be related to differences in affinities. The use of a panel of specific RNAses, displaying different affinities, could thus allow for the topographical distribution of particular RNA molecules according to their relative content of specific bases.     

Cytochemical variations in the nucleolus during spermiogenesis in man and monkey

Summary The fine structure, nature and fate of the components of the nucleolus were studied in young (steps 1, 2), intermediate (steps 3, 4, 5) and mature spermatids (steps 6, 7, 8) of man and monkey, by use of several cytochemical techniques (alcoholic PTA; sodium tungstate; EDTA; HAPTA; nuclease-gold complexes; NOR silver staining). As controls, comparative ultrastructural and cytochemical observations of the nucleolus in spermatids and Sertoli cells were made in the same sections of seminiferous tubules. In the young spermatids of the two species studied, the nucleolar masses exhibited identical features. Segregation of the nucleolar components took place in the nuclei of step 1 spermatids. No typical fibrillar center was observed. In spermatids at steps 1 and 2, the nucleolar masses appeared to be made up of two fibrillar components of equal density, one spherule-shaped, the other forming cords, both surrounded by clusters of 15–20 nm-diameter granules. Alcoholic PTA and sodium tungstate yielded a selective positive contrast of the two fibrillar components whereas EDTA and RNase-gold reacted with the peripheral granular material. Treatment with RNase-gold and DNase-gold complexes resulted in preferential labeling at the periphery of the fibrillar components. After NOR silver staining, numerous small silver grains were localized over the fibrillar cords, suggesting the persistence of specific acidic non-histone proteins. On the contrary, the spherule was never stained. In intermediate spermatids, when the nucleolar components were dissociated, scattered clusters of granules stained by EDTA and HAPTA remained in the entire nucleoplasm. Nucleolar disintegration was accompanied by dispersion of argyrophilic material. In mature spermatids granular material revealed by PTA and silver staining methods was found in the nuclear pockets bounded by the redundant nuclear envelope.