Applicability of tetrazolium salts for the measurement of respiratory activity and viability of groundwater bacteria

A study was undertaken to measure aerobic respiration by indigenous bacteria in a sand and gravel aquifer on western Cape Cod, MA using tetrazolium salts and by direct oxygen consumption using gas chromatography (GC). In groundwater and aquifer slurries, the rate of aerobic respiration calculated from the direct GC assay was more than 600 times greater than that using the tetrazolium salt 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride (INT). To explain this discrepancy, the toxicity of INT and two additional tetrazolium salts, sodium 3'-[1-(phenylamino)-carbonyl]-3,4-tetrazolium]-bis(4-methoxy-6-nitro) benzenesulfonic acid hydrate (XTT) and 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC), to bacterial isolates from the aquifer was investigated. Each of the three tetrazolium salts was observed to be toxic to some of the groundwater isolates at concentrations normally used in electron transport system (ETS) and viability assays. For example, incubation of cells with XTT (3 mM) caused the density of four of the five groundwater strains tested to decline by more than four orders of magnitude. A reasonable percentage (>57%) of cells killed by CTC and INT contained visible formazan crystals (the insoluble, reduced form of the salts) after 4 h of incubation. Thus, many of the cells reduced enough CTC or INT prior to dying to be considered viable by microscopic evaluation. However, one bacterium (Pseudomonas fluorescens) that remained viable and culturable in the presence of INT and CTC, did not incorporate formazan crystals into more than a few percent of cells, even after 24 h of incubation. This strain would be considered nonviable based on traditional tetrazolium salt reduction assays. The data show that tetrazolium salt assays are likely to dramatically underestimate total ETS activity in groundwater and, although they may provide a reasonable overall estimate of viable cell numbers in a community of groundwater bacteria, some specific strains may be falsely considered nonviable by this assay due to poor uptake or reduction of the salts.     

The simultaneous demonstration of adrenergic fibres and enteric ganglion cells

Synopsis A method for the demonstration of adrenergic nerves and enteric neurons at the same time has been developed by combining the fluorescence histochemical technique for catecholamines and the histochemical technique for NADH:Nitro BT oxidoreductase.The method consists of a short incubation of the laminae from the wall of the intestine in an isotonic medium containing the substrate (NADH) and a tetrazolium salt (Nitro BT). After washing, the laminae are air dried, exposed to formaldehyde vapour and mounted.The adrenergic nerves in the myenteric plexus appear brightly fluorescent on excitation with u.v. light, whereas the neurons are heavily stained by deposits of formazan. Not all the neurons of the plexus are stained, but their morphology is well preserved. Differences in staining of the neurons reflect differences in penetration of the tetrazolium salt in the tissue and into the cells. The adrenergic axons do not establish exclusive connexions with individual neurons and some isolated neurons are not associated with any adrenergic fibres.     

Elimination of artifacts due to glutaraldehyde fixation in the histochemical detection of glucose oxidase with tetrazolium salts

Summary High background staining due to glutaraldehyde fixation prevents phenazine methosulphate and a tetrazolium salt being used to visualize glucose oxidase activity in tissue slices prepared from mice injected with the enzyme. Experiments in solution showed that products formed during the reaction between amino groups and glutaraldehyde are, at least in part, responsible for the non-enzymatic reduction of tetrazolium salts. Experiments performed with artificial membranes chemically akin to glutaraldehyde-fixed sections and prepared by cross-linking albumin by glutaraldehyde, showed that double bonds in amino-glutaraldehyde products are mainly responsible for the background staining development, whereas thiol groups play only a minor role. A sequential treatment with sodium borohydride andN-ethylmaleimide greatly reduced the background staining, thus permitting the detection of glucose oxidase activity. Optimal conditions for glucose oxidase activity demonstration (maximum enzyme velocity for minimum nothing dehydrogenase phenomenon) were studied: choice of the tetrazolium salt, nature, pH and molarity of the buffer used for the staining mixture. A procedure similar to that developed with artificial membranes was applied to tissue sections of mice in which glucose oxidase had been injected intravenously. It allowed detection of glucose oxidase activity without artifactual staining in control slices.     

Colorimetric cell proliferation assay for microorganisms in microtiter plate using water-soluble tetrazolium salts

A colorimetric method to assay cell proliferation of microorganisms in 96-well microtiter plates using water-soluble tetrazolium salts and electron mediators was developed. Combinations of 6 kinds of water-soluble tetrazolium salts and 27 kinds of electron mediators that considered the metabolic efficiency of microorganisms and the influence with medium components were investigated. 2-Methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (NQ) was reduced most effectively by various species of microorganisms, and a combination of WST-8 as a water-soluble tetrazolium salt with 2-methyl-1,4-NQ repressed the increase in background due to medium components. In the presence of 2-methyl-1,4-NQ, WST-8 was reduced by microbial cells to formazan, which exhibited maximum absorbance at 460 nm. The proposed tetrazolium method could be applied to measure proliferations of various microbial cells including 3 kinds of yeast, 9 kinds of Gram-positive bacteria, and 10 kinds of Gram-negative bacteria. Linear relationships between the absorbance and viable microbial cell density were obtained in all microorganisms, suggesting that the absorbance change reflected the microbial cell proliferation.     

The role of plasma membrane in bioreduction of two tetrazolium salts, MTT, and CTC

Despite widespread use of various tetrazolium assays, the mechanisms of bioreduction of these compounds have not been fully elucidated. We investigated the capacity of tetrazolium salts to penetrate through intact cell plasma membranes. 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) tetrazolium salts appear to represent examples of species that are reduced by different mechanisms. We provide evidence suggesting that MTT readily crosses intact plasma membranes and is reduced intracellularly. MTT appears to be reduced by both plasma membrane and intracellular reductases; reducing cells are not damaged and remain metabolically active for at least 45 min. In contrast, CTC remains extracellular with respect to viable cells and thus requires plasma membrane permeable electron carrier to be reduced efficiently. However, reduction of CTC in the presence of an electron carrier inflicts damage on plasma membranes. The intracellular vs extracellular sites of reduction of tetrazolium salts were established on the basis of deposition of formazans. Crystals of formazan were detected using fluorescence or backscattered light confocal laser microscopy. We postulate that the capacity of a tetrazolium salt to cross intact plasma membranes constitutes an important experimental variable which needs to be controlled in order to correctly interpret the outcome of tetrazolium assays designed to measure cellular production of oxygen radicals, activity of mitochondrial, cytosolic, or outer membrane reductases, etc.     

Nutrition and growth of the moderately halophilic bacteria Micrococcus morrhuae K-17 and Micrococcus luteus K-15

Chemically defined media have been developed for the growth of two moderately halophilic bacteria, Micrococcus morrhuae K-17 and Micrococcus luteus K-15. M. morrhuae K-17 grows well in a synthetic medium (SM-1) which contains a number of salts, 0.21 M KCl, 2 M NaCl, D-mannose, five vitamins and ten amino acids. The synthetic medium (SM-2) for M. luteus K-15 contains a number of salts, 0.21 M KCl, 1 M NaCl, D-fructose, nine vitamins and nine amino acids. Nutritional studies show that M. morrhuae K-17 can utilize a large number of organic compounds as carbon and energy source while the ability of M. luteus K-15 in utilizing the organic compounds is rather limited. The minimum salt requirement is 0.5 M NaCl for both strains when growth at the optimum temperature of 30 degrees C. However, this requirement can be lowered to 0.2 M in M. luteus K-15 when grown at a lower temperature of 25 degrees C. It is concluded that the ability to grow in a wider range of salt concentrations in response to temperature is species specific in moderate halophiles. The salt range for growth to occur can be extended when cells of both strains are grown in complex medium which might provide the amino acids and growth factors that cannot be synthesized by these strains at high salt concentrations.     

Applications of short-chain polydimethylacrylamide as sieving medium for the electrophoretic separation of DNA fragments and mutation analysis in uncoated capillaries

The cytosensor microphysiometer (a biosensing instrument for detecting cellular metabolism) was compared to the established tetrazolium salt assay as a chemosensitivity test. Two coumarin compounds, 7-hydroxycoumarin and esculetin, were examined to determine their effect on the cellular metabolism of A431 cells over a 24-h exposure period. In the tetrazolium salt assay, 7-hydroxycoumarin caused suppression of the succinate dehydrogenase activity at concentrations greater than 10 microg/ml. Esculetin exerted a more serious effect on succinate dehydrogenase, with decreases in activity observed at greater than 1 microg/ml. The observed effect was dose-dependent for both compounds examined. The metabolic activities of cells exposed to 100 microg/ml of drug were 90.37 +/- 2.8 and 71.62 +/- 2.96 (n = 3), of control values, for 7-hydroxycoumarin and esculetin, respectively. Using the cytosensor microphysiometer to assess metabolic activities, a similar pattern of inhibition was observed, with esculetin more detrimental to cellular metabolism than 7-hydroxycoumarin. The effect was dose- and time-dependent for both compounds. 7-Hydroxycoumarin (100 microg/ml) caused the cellular metabolic rate to drop to 44.21 +/- 5.34% (n = 4) of the control metabolic rate, while 100 microg/ml esculetin caused the metabolic rate to fall to 21.5 +/- 4.54% (n = 4) of the control rate. The cytosensor method proved to be superior to the tetrazolium salt assay for a number of reasons, which are discussed in this paper.     

Androgen dynamics in vitro in the normal and hyperplastic human prostate gland

The dynamics of uptake and metabolism in vitro of androgens by normal and hyperplastic human prostate glands was studied by means of a new experimental design proposed by Gurpide & Welch (1969). Prostate slices were perfused with a medium containing [(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]androstenedione, or 5alpha-dihydro-[(3)H]testosterone and [(14)C]testosterone. The entry into the slices, the irreversible metabolism, the conversion between the compounds and the tissue retention or ;uptake' of the steroids were measured at the steady state. A similar portion of the three androgens entered the tissue and was irreversibly metabolized. Conversion of testosterone into 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone was much greater than the interconversion of testosterone and androstenedione. The prostate slices retained 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone at a concentration three times that in the medium, whereas testosterone and androstenedione were retained to a smaller extent. At a steroid concentration of 0.11mumol/l in the medium, the various parameters did not differ significantly in experiments performed with slices from normal and hyperplastic glands. When the steroid concentration in the medium was increased tenfold, however, a difference between normal and hyperplastic glands was evident. The normal glands increased the uptake and metabolism proportionally to the elevation of the steroid concentration in the medium. In the hyperplastic glands the entry and metabolism lagged behind the increase in steroid supply, whereas the tissue uptake became disproportionately high. The possible causes of this finding are discussed.     

盐胁迫下不同的钙盐对小麦幼苗耐盐性的影响

利用Ca(N03)2和CaCl2可以提高生长在盐渍条件下小麦幼苗的耐盐能力,增加幼苗的干、鲜重。其原因是由于两种钙盐均能防止膜脂过氧化,降低质膜透性,减少细胞内营养物质外渗,阻止Na+进入细胞。实验结果证明,在降低小麦幼苗盐害方面,Ca(N03)2好于CaCl2。讨论了两个钙盐在降低盐害机理方面的差异。     

A new microtitre plate screening method for evaluating the viability of aerobic respiring bacteria in high surface biofilms

Aims: It is difficult to determine the effects of bactericidal compounds against bacteria in a biofilm because classical procedures for determining cell viability require several working days, multiple complicated steps and are frequently only applicable to cells in suspension. We attempt to develop a compact, inexpensive and versatile system to measure directly the extent of biofilm formation from water systems and to determine the viability of respiring bacteria in high surface biofilms. Methods and Results: It has been reported that the reduction of tetrazolium sodium salts, such as XTT (sodium 3,3′‐[1‐[(phenylamino)carbonyl]‐3,4‐tetrazolium]Bis(4‐methoxy)‐6‐nitro)benzene sulfonic acid hydrate), during active bacterial metabolism can be incorporated into a colorimetric method for quantifying cell viability. XTT is reduced to a soluble formazan compound during bacterial aerobic metabolism such that the amount of formazan generated is proportional to the bacterial biomass. Conclusions: We show here, for the first time, that this colorimetric approach can be used to determine the metabolic activity of adherent aerobic bacteria in a biofilm as a measure of cell viability. This technique has been used to estimate viability and proliferation of bacteria in suspension, but this is the first application to microbial communities in a real undisturbed biofilm. Significance and Impact of the Study: This simple new system can be used to evaluate the complex biofilm community without separating the bacteria from their support. Thus, the results obtained by this practice may be more representative of the circumstances in a natural system, opening the possibility to multiple potential applications.     

Production and viability of coccoid forms of Campylobacter jejuni

Studies were conducted into the formation and physiological state of coccoid cells of a strain of the human and animal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. It was found that growth phase and the presence of chloramphenicol did not affect the rate of shape transformation from spiral to coccoid, while nutrient limitation, aeration of the medium and the presence of free-radical scavengers had profound effects. Coccoid cells were found to reduce the tetrazolium salts INT (2-( p -iodophenyl)-3-( p -nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride) and CTC (5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride) to their respective formazans and this was linked to cellular respiration. However, respiring coccoid cells could not sustain their existence in prolonged adverse conditions, and it was concluded that they represent a degenerative stage rather than a dormant state of the organism.     

A fluorescent redox dye. Influence of several substrates and electron carriers on the tetrazolium salt-formazan reaction of Ehrlich ascites tumour cells

Summary This study was performed to elaborate the best conditions for measuring the redox activity of Ehrlich ascites tumour cells by using a new tetrazolium salt, cyantolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC). This tetrazolium salt forms a fluorescent water-insoluble formazan on reduction on the surface of intact vital cells. The influences of fixation and of various substrates and electron carriers on the cellular reduction of CTC were investigated quantitatively using an elution technique. The amount of formazan obtained after incubating vital cells with Meldola Blue as electron carrier was greater than that obtained with Methylene Blue, menadione, 2,6-dichloroindophenol, 1-methoxyphenazine methosulphate or phenazine methosulphate. Using flow cytometry, the formazan production per cell and, after staining the nuclear DNA, the distribution of the redox activity in the cell population can be visualized with satisfactory resolution. We conclude from our findings that dehydrogenases are only partially involved in the reduction of tetrazolium salts by intact cells and that a redox activity, probably related to a cell membrane-bound NAD(P)H—oxidase system, is mainly measured.     

Fluorescent redox dyes

Summary The reduction of a new series of tetrazolium salts to red fluorescent formazans by Ehrlich ascites tumor cells is described. The qualitative effect on this reaction of two cell surface-active compounds and of six exogenous electron carriers was investigated by varying the incubation conditions. After incubation of Ehrlich ascites cells with the new colourless, watersoluble 5-cyan-2.3-ditolyltetrazolium salts, bright red water-insoluble formazan crystals on the cell surface can be observed under fluorescence microscopy. The production of formazan is enhanced by 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) or digitonin (DIG), two potent stimulators of oxygen consumption or by the electron carriers phenzazine methosulphate (PMS), 1-methoxy-phenazine methosulphate (MPMS), meldola blue (MB), methylen blue (MTB), and 2.6-dichlorindophenol (DCIP). These results provide further evidence for the existence of redox enzymes bound to the plasma membrane of intact ascites cells and for a free radical mechanism of tetrazolium salt reduction. The fluorescence property of the new redox dyes offers the advantage of high sensitivity. Moreover, their greater homogeneity relative to the commonly used di-tetrazolium salts lowers the chances of misinterpretations due to impurities. The possible application of these new mono-tetrazolium salts to cytochemical investigations of oxidative metabolic reactions is discussed.     

Human liver quality is a dominant factor in the outcome of in vitro studies

Donated human liver in the form of precision-cut tissue slices or isolated hepatocytes, is increasingly being used to predict metabolism and toxicity of xenobiotics in man. These tissue slices or hepatocytes can also be cold-preserved and cryopreserved to prolong their use for biological experiments. The viability of human liver could substantially affect the outcome of such experimentation. The goal of this investigation was to assess the viability of donated human livers, in the form of tissue slices, as they were received and to determine how varying degrees of liver quality affect experimental outcomes. Over one hundred human livers were categorized according to initial viability, as assessed by ATP content, K⁺ retention, protein synthesis, and LDH leakage. Each liver was placed in a low-, a medium-, or a high-quality group. The results showed that 76% of transplant-grade tissue (procured for transplantation) fell into the high-viability classification while the majority of research-grade tissue (not procured for transplantation) fell into the lowest viability classification. It was also found that only tissue slices prepared from highly viable human liver could be cold-preserved and cryopreserved. Dichlorobenzene metabolism was also greater in slices from highly viable human livers as compared to less viable livers. This study showed that human liver tissue acquired for medical research substantially varies in its viability and that these differences will affect the experimental data obtained. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Changes in medium radioactivity and composition accompany high-affinity uptake of glutamate and aspartate by mouse brain slices

In measurements of high affinity transport in tissue slices, the incubation medium is often treated as an infinitely large pool. External substrate concentrations, even at the micromolar level, are assumed to be constant and metabolic interactions between tissue and medium are neglected. In the present report we describe experiments in which glutamic and aspartic acid uptake by mouse brain slices were studied using techniques that could test these assumptions. Cerebral hemispheres were cut into 0.1 mm sections and about 90 mg of tissue incubated in 10 ml of oxygenated medium. After 45 minutes of equilibration, radioactive substrates were added and the concentrations and specific activities of the amino acids and their metabolites in the medium were determined. During the first 10 min following substrate addition, rapid decreases in glutamic and aspartic acid concentrations in the medium were accompanied by large decreases in specific activity caused by the continuous release of these amino acids from the tissue. In addition, extensive conversion of both substrates to glutamine and the preferential accumulation of this metabolite, in the medium, was found. These results demonstrate that metabolism and release occur simultaneously with uptake during transport experiments in vitro and that these processes can take place in specific tissue compartments. It is therefore necessary to measure the tissue and medium concentration levels of amino acids along with their radioactivity in such experiments, since all three processes (transport, metabolism, and compartmentation) are interrelated in the clearance of amino acids from the incubation medium and probably from the extracellular spaces in vivo as well.     

Ultrastructural and biochemical studies of the swelling of developing chick telencephalic slices

Summary An ultrastructural and biochemical study of the importance and localization of tissue swelling was performed on telencephalic slices of 1- and 30-day-old chicks incubated in an oxygenated or a non-oxygenated physiological medium. The swelling of slices is greater for 30-day-old chick material than for that from 1-day-old chicks. It also reaches higher values in the non-oxygenated than in the oxygenated medium. When the 30-day-old chick telencephalic slices are incubated in an oxygenated medium, swelling mainly affects astrocytes, and especially the astrocytic endfeet. When they are incubated in a non-oxygenated medium, the astrocytes and astrocytic endfeet are very swollen and in addition the swelling also affects the neurons and their organelles. Extracellular space is increased. When 1-day-old chick telencephalic slices are incubated in a non-oxygenated medium, the tissue structures are well preserved. Swelling predominantly affects astrocytes and astrocytic endfeet. Neurons are not affected and the extracellular space is reduced. However, when they are incubated in an oxygenated medium, tissue structures are greatly affected showing a high degree of disorganization. Extracellular space is greatly increased. This study thus indicates that the best incubation conditions are an oxygenated medium for 30-day-old chick telencephalic slices which are characterized by an aerobic metabolism, and a non-oxygenated medium for 1-day-old chick telencephalic slices which have a predominantly anaerobic metabolism.     

A novel simplified ultra-rapid freezing technique for cryopreservation of tissue slices

Cryopreservation offers the potential to maximize the use and availability of biological materials that have a limited supply. This study demonstrates an enhanced technique for the parallel cryopreservation of a series of liver tissue slices using a tray modeled from aluminium foil and low concentrations of a cryoprotectant. Cooling and warming rates of approximately 2000 and 3900 degrees C min(-1), respectively, were achieved as the thermal capacity of the foil-tray was significantly reduced compared to the aluminium sandwich device introduced by Day et al. [S.H. Day, D.A. Nicoll-Griffith, J.M. Silva, Cryopreservation of rat and human liver slices by rapid freezing, Cryobiology 38 (1999) 154-159]. Additionally, the two critical steps involved in the sandwich approach, i.e., clamping the plates and complete filling of the entire space between the plates with liquid, can be omitted using the foil tray. The viability of the slices was verified by measuring tetrazolium salt reduction capacity, cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase leakage, and ethoxycoumarin metabolism.     

盐胁迫下不同的钙盐对小麦幼苗耐盐性的影响

利用Ｃａ（ＮＯ３）２和ＣａＣｌ２可以提高生长在盐渍条件下小麦幼苗的耐盐能力,增加幼苗的干、鲜重。其原因是由于两种钙盐均能防止膜脂过氧化,降低质膜透性,减少细胞内营养物质外渗,阻止Ｎａ＋进入细胞。实验结果证明,在降低小麦幼苗盐害方面,Ｃａ（ＮＯ３）２好于ＣａＣｌ２。讨论了两个钙盐在降低盐害机理方面的差异     

Studies on the phenazine methosulphate--tetrazolium salt capture reaction in NAD(P)+-dependent dehydrogenase cytochemistry. III. The role of superoxide in tetrazolium reduction

Summary A study was made of the involvement of superoxide anions in the aerobic reduction of tetrazolium salts by NAD(P)H and phenazine methosulphate (PMS). On the basis of experiments with superoxide dismutase two mechanisms of tetrazolium reduction could be distinguished-one in which fully reduced PMS (PMSH) is the reducer and one in which superoxide anion is the reducer of tetrazolium salts. It is proposed that superoxide anion is formed after a PMSH-PMS⁺ dismutation reaction. The relative contributions of the two distinct pathways to tetrazolium salt reduction are controlled by the PMS redox state and the oxygen tension. The consequences of the presence of superoxide anions and scavengers of superoxide anions for quantitative dehydrogenase cytochemistry are discussed.