Immunological identification of complex proteins resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis.

Immunological identification of an antigen resolved from a protein complex by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has been attained. The identification is based on the formation of immunoprecipitin lines after the antigen diffuses laterally from acrylamide gel transverse slices into a surrounding agarose gel. This technique was designed for study of contractile and regulatory protein complexes of non-muscle cells where the scarcity of tissue precludes easy purification or high yield of muscle-like proteins. It complements double-gel immunodiffusion or immunoelectrophoresis and its use may be extended to other protein complexes.     

以BAC为基础的疱疹病毒感染性克隆技术

疱疹病毒（HPVs）庞大而复杂的基因组一直使得HPVs的遗传分析颇具挑战性。近几年发展起来的以细菌人工染色体（BAC）为基础的HPVs全长感染性克隆是全新的技术,促进了在HPVs整个基因组中对单个基因功能的研究。本文以EB病毒为例,介绍了该技术的原理、建立、突变方法及应用。     

以BAC为基础的水痘-带状疱疹病毒的感染性克隆技术及其应用

水痘-带状疱疹病毒（VZV）属于疱疹病毒科α亚科,其原发感染为水痘,潜伏再度激活则引起带状疱疹。目前对其基因功能和疫苗的减毒机制尚不十分清楚。细菌人工染色(BAC)是一种新的用于大分子DNA克隆的载体系统,它具有容量大、遗传稳定、操作简单等优点。将VZV全基因组克隆至BAC系统构建成VZV的感染性克隆,并利用现代基因修饰技术可极大促进对该病毒的研究。就近年来以BAC为基础VZV感染性克隆技术的建立和应用做一综述。     

Quantitative confocal spectral imaging analysis of mitoxantrone within living K562 cells: intracellular accumulation and distribution of monomers, aggregates, naphtoquinoxaline metabolite, and drug-target complexes

Confocal spectral imaging (CSI) technique was used for quantitative analysis of the uptake, subcellular localization, and characteristics of localized binding and retention of anticancer agent mitoxantrone (MITOX) within human K562 erythroleukemia cells. The CSI technique enables identification of the state and interactions of the drug within the living cells. Utilizing this unique property of the method, intracellular distributions were examined for monomeric MITOX in polar environment, MITOX bound with hydrophobic cellular structures, naphthoquinoxaline metabolite, and nucleic acid-related complexes of MITOX. The features revealed were compared for the cells treated with 2 microM or 10 microM of MITOX for 1 h and correlated to the known data on antitumor action of the drug. MITOX was found to exhibit high tendency to self-aggregation within intracellular media. The aggregates are concluded to be a determinant of long-term intracellular retention of the drug and a source of persistent intracellular binding of MITOX. Considerable penetration of MITOX in the hydrophobic cytoskeleton structures as well as growing accumulation of MITOX bound to nucleic acids within the nucleus were found to occur in the cells treated with a high concentration of the drug. These effects may be among the factors stimulating and/or accompanying high-dose mitoxantrone-induced programmed cell death or apoptosis.     

Confocal raman microspectroscopy and imaging study of theraphthal in living cancer cells

Binary systems combining a transition metal complex and ascorbate have been proposed recently for catalytic therapy of malignant tumors. The killing effect on tumor cells is achieved by production of free radicals in the course of accelerated oxidation of ascorbate by dioxygen in the presence of transition metal complexes. Further progress in the development of binary catalytic systems (BCSs) requires a special method for their investigation in cells and tissues, because neither component of BCSs fluoresces. Here a resonance Raman confocal spectral imaging (RR CSI) technique was introduced as a unique approach to monitor quantitatively the transition metal complexes within living cells. Intracellular accumulation, localization, and retention of theraphthal (TP), a catalyst of the advanced TP/ascorbate BCS, were investigated in A549 cells with the RR CSI technique. The cellular analysis was complemented with the detailed study of molecular interactions of TP in solution and environmental factors affecting the RR spectrum of TP. TP does not penetrate into membranes, it binds very weakly to DNA and RNA, but it readily forms complexes with proteins. Binding with Ca(2+) cations and decreasing pH below 6 induce aggregation of TP. By analyzing RR spectra recorded from every point within a TP-treated cell, three states of the agent were discriminated, namely, monomeric TP in polar environment, TP bound to proteins, and aggregated TP. Their cytoplasmic and nuclear distributions were mapped at different stages of uptake and efflux. By introducing organelle-selective fluorescent probes into drug-treated cells and measuring intracellular localization of both the probe and the drug, compartmentation of TP was revealed. Cell growth suppression by the TP/ascorbate system was measured, and probable molecular and organelle targets of radical damage were characterized.     

A sensitive and rapid method for identification and characterization of low abundance receptors

An improved method for detection of low intensity radioligand-receptor complexes resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is described. [3H]Azidopine-labeled 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP) receptor from skeletal muscle resolved by SDS-PAGE was transferred to nitrocellulose and cut into strips and individual slices were analyzed for radioincorporation by liquid scintillation counting. [3H]Azidopine-labeled DHP binding subunit migrated as a single entity with a mass of 170 kDa and was confirmed using conventional methods. Results were obtained within 4 h after resolution by SDS-PAGE compared to 3-40 days using conventional methods. In addition, detection of extremely low signals (less than 50 cpm/lane), otherwise overwhelmed by background noise using conventional methods, was possible due to removal of free ligand during electro-transfer to nitrocellulose. This technique offers a rapid sensitive, cost effective alternative to fluorography or other conventional gel slice analysis methods for detecting low intensity radiolabeled complexes resolved by SDS-PAGE.     

Disruption of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus latent nuclear antigen leads to abortive episome persistence

Latent nuclear antigen (LNA) is implicated in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) episome persistence. LNA colocalizes with KSHV episomes on chromosomes in metaphase, and it maintains the stability and replication of KSHV terminal repeat-containing plasmids. In this study, we examined the function of LNA in episome persistence in the context of full-length KSHV genome by mutagenesis analysis. We generated a KSHV mutant, BAC36-DeltaLNA, with LNA disrupted by transposon-based mutagenesis with a KSHV BAC clone, BAC36, as a template. Immunofluorescence antibody staining revealed that the insertion of a transposon cassette into LNA disrupted its expression but had no effect on the expression of two adjacent genes, the vCyclin and vFLIP genes. Using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) cassette as a tracking marker for the KSHV episome, we found 8.7-fold-fewer GFP-positive cells in BAC36-DeltaLNA cultures than in wild-type BAC36 cultures at the early stage following episome delivery into 293 cells by transfection, which could be partially rescued by cotransfection with a LNA expression plasmid but not a control plasmid. Cells harboring BAC36-DeltaLNA with or without transient complementation rapidly lost episomes and became virus-free after 2 weeks of culture based on GFP expression and Gardella gel analysis and quantitative PCR assays for detecting KSHV genomes. In contrast, BAC36 episomes were stably maintained during the same period. Stable cultures with close to 100% of cells harboring KSHV episomes were readily established by hygromycin selection for BAC36 but not for BAC36-DeltaLNA. These results conclusively indicate that LNA is essential for the establishment and persistence of KSHV episomes in mammalian cells.     

Localization and molecular interactions of mitoxantrone within living K562 cells as probed by confocal spectral imaging analysis

Studying mechanisms of drug antitumor action is complicated by the lack of noninvasive methods enabling direct monitoring of the state and interactions of the drugs within intact viable cells. Here we present a confocal spectral imaging (CSI) technique as a method of overcoming this problem. We applied this method to the examination of localization and interactions of mitoxantrone (1, 4-dihydroxy-5, 8-bis-[([2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-amino]ethyl)amino]-9,10-anthracenedione dihydrochloride), a potent antitumor drug, in living K562 cells. A two-dimensional set of fluorescence spectra of mitoxantrone (MITOX) recorded with micron resolution within a drug-treated cell was analyzed to reveal formation of drug-target complexes and to create the maps of their intracellular distribution. The analysis was based on detailed in vitro modeling of drug-target (DNA, RNA, DNA topoisomerase II) interactions and environmental effects affecting drug fluorescence. MITOX exposed to aqueous intracellular environment, MITOX bound to hydrophobic cellular structures, complexes of MITOX with nucleic acids, as well as the naphtoquinoxaline metabolite of MITOX were simultaneously detected and mapped in K562 cells. These states and complexes are known to be immediately related to the antitumor action of the drug. The results obtained present a basis for the subsequent quantitative analysis of concentration and time-dependent accumulation of free and bound MITOX within different compartments of living cancer cells.     

A new technique for the long-term study of the physiology of plant fruit tissue slices

Parkin, K. L. 1987. A new technique for the long-term study of the physiology of plant fruit tissue slices.
A modified tissue culture medium, devoid of plant growth hormones, was evaluated as a means to allow long-term study of the physiology of plant fruit tissue slices. Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, cvs New Yorker and Caruso) tissue slices, prepared from mature green fruits, were mounted in this medium and examined for their capability to undergo ripening. Over a 30 day period the changes in color, firmness and respiratory activity for the slices appeared to be temporally associated as is the case for the intact fruit. A less distinct respiratory climacteric was noted for the incubated discs compared to the intact fruit. This new technique might be applicable to long-term study of other plant tissues.     

Measurement of water transport during freezing in mammalian liver tissue: Part II--The use of differential scanning calorimetry.

There is currently a need for experimental techniques to assay the biophysical response (water transport or intracellular ice formation, IIF) during freezing in the cells of whole tissue slices. These data are important in understanding and optimizing biomedical applications of freezing, particularly in cryosurgery. This study presents a new technique using a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) to obtain dynamic and quantitative water transport data in whole tissue slices during freezing. Sprague-Dawley rat liver tissue was chosen as our model system. The DSC was used to monitor quantitatively the heat released by water transported from the unfrozen cell cytoplasm to the partially frozen vascular/extracellular space at 5 degrees C/min. This technique was previously described for use in a single cell suspension system (Devireddy, et al. 1998). A model of water transport was fit to the DSC data using a nonlinear regression curve-fitting technique, which assumes that the rat liver tissue behaves as a two-compartment Krogh cylinder model. The biophysical parameters of water transport for rat liver tissue at 5 degrees C/min were obtained as Lpg = 3.16 x 10(-13) m3/Ns (1.9 microns/min-atm), ELp = 265 kJ/mole (63.4 kcal/mole), respectively. These results compare favorably to water transport parameters in whole liver tissue reported in the first part of this study obtained using a freeze substitution (FS) microscopy technique (Pazhayannur and Bischof, 1997). The DSC technique is shown to be a fast, quantitative, and reproducible technique to measure dynamic water transport in tissue systems. However, there are several limitations to the DSC technique: (a) a priori knowledge that the biophysical response is in fact water transport, (b) the technique cannot be used due to machine limitations at cooling rates greater than 40 degrees C/min, and (c) the tissue geometric dimensions (the Krogh model dimensions) and the osmotically inactive cell volumes Vb, must be determined by low-temperature microscopy techniques.     

In situ entry of oligonucleotides into brain cells can occur through a nucleic acid channel

Brain tissue has become a challenging therapeutic target, in part because of failure of conventional treatments of brain tumors and a gradually increasing number of neurodegenerative diseases. Because antisense oligonucleotides are readily internalized by neuronal cells in culture, these compounds could possibly serve as novel therapeutic agents to meet such a challenge. In previous in vitro work using cell culture systems, we have demonstrated that intracellular delivery requires a vector such as cationic liposomes since free oligonucleotides remain largely trapped in the endocytic pathway following cellular uptake. Here we studied the cellular uptake properties of oligonucleotides by explants of rat brain (brain slices), and by in vivo brain tissue after administration of oligonucleotides by bolus injection. In contrast to in vitro uptake, we show that in brain slices oligonucleotides were taken up by neuronal and nonneuronal cells, irrespective of their assembly with cationic liposomes. In either case, a diffuse distribution of oligonucleotides was seen in the cytosol and/or nucleus. Uptake of oligonucleotides by brain slices as a result of membrane damage, potentially arising from the isolation procedure, could be excluded. Interestingly, internalization was inhibited following treatment of the tissue with antibody GN-2640, directed against a nucleic acid channel, present in rat kidney cells. Our data support the view that an analogous channel is present in brain tissue, allowing entry of free oligonucleotides but not plasmids. Indeed, for delivery of the latter and accomplishment of effective transfection, cationic lipids were needed for gene translocation into both brain slices and brain tissue in vivo. These data imply that for antisense therapy to become effective in brain, cationic lipid-mediated delivery will only be needed for specific cell targeting but not necessarily for delivery per se to accomplish nuclear deposition of oligonucleotides into brain cells and subsequent down-regulation of disease-related targets.     

Cytokeratin demonstration in thick breast tissue slices

Tissue slices (500 to 1000 μm thick) of archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast tissue were immunostained by a cytokeratin antibody (MNF116) using a streptavidin--biotin complex procedure. The technique requires prolonged exposure of tissue slices to the reagents. Use of the detergent Triton X-100 facilitated penetration of high molecular weight reagents through the tissue slices. Fifty of 58 slices 500 μm thick (86%) showed good to excellent immunostaining, and 13 of 20 slices 1000 μm thick (65%) showed similar staining. Omission of the primary antibody eliminated any immunostaining. Comparison with corresponding Haematoxylin staining of the thick slices (the conventional procedure for such breast tissue slices) showed that thick-slice cytokeratin immunostaining markedly improved visualization of the epithelial structure in normal lobules and invasive carcinomas. Although the immunohistochemical technique takes 33 days for completion, the quality of the epithelial images outweighs this disadvantage. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simplified low-cost methodology to establish,histologically process and analyze three-dimensional cancer cell spheroid arrays

Differently of two-dimensional cell culture, three-dimensional (3D) multicellular spheroid model allows cells to establish cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions over the entire cell surface, more closely mimicking tumor microenvironments and cellular subpopulations with specific standards of morphology, differentiation and gene expression. Thenceforth several methodologies involving or the 3D cell aggregates generation or its histological processing and analysis have emerged, but in general they are laborious, expensive and complex to set up as a routine technique. Thus, we developed a complete methodology, detailing a simple, accessible and low-cost step by step, including 1) the 3D cell aggregate generation using hanging drop technique; 2) providing a simple way to assess morphological parameters of generated spheroids; followed by 3) a multiple and organized histological processing, keeping several individual spheroids inside an agarose apparatus, maintaining a known order and position of each ones, similar to tissue microarray principle; 4) until the last step, where it is allowed a simultaneous histological composition analysis of several spheroid slices, organized side by side, in a same block section, through conventional stainings or 5) immunostaining against different molecular markers. Therefore, the present methodology aims to popularize 3D cell culture, allowing to make this a regular technique in basic cell biology research, once all steps are performed without using onerous reagents, materials or equipment. In addition to bring the agarose apparatus as a simple low cost novelty, allowing high-throughput analysis of several spheroids simultaneously in an organized manner.     

Cryopreservation of pig and human liver slices

The ability to cryopreserve human liver slices would greatly enhance the opportunities to test potentially hepatotoxic drugs and environmental contaminants as well as the metabolism of these compounds. This study focused on trying to cryopreserve pig and human liver slices. Since the acquisition of human liver tissue is unpredictable and scarce, an animal model was sought to predict problems associated with cryopreservation of human tissue. The pig liver was chosen because of its anatomical and physiological resemblance to human liver. The human liver tissues that did become available were obtained through the Arizona Organ Bank and the National Disease Research Interchange and from surgical liver resections. An in vitro culture system that employed precision-cut liver slices was used in this study. Different types and concentrations of cryoprotectants, cooling rates, and culture media were all tried in an attempt to cryopreserve pig and human liver slices. The viabilities of fresh and cryopreserved liver slices were evaluated using slice K+ retention and protein synthesis. Pig liver slices following cryopreservation retained between 80 and 85% of intracellular K+ content and protein synthesis as compared to controls using 1.4 M Me2SO, a 12 degrees C/min cooling rate, and a rapid rewarming rate of direct submersion of the slice into 37 degrees C fetal calf serum. Human liver slices following cryopreservation retained between 54 and 89% of intracellular K+ content and protein synthesis as compared to controls using the same protocol as for pigs, except that lower cooling rates were giving better results. The large variation seen in cryopreserved human liver slices was due to the length of warm and cold ischemia to which the tissue was exposed before arriving at the laboratory. This study indicated that pig and human liver slices can be cryopreserved and used for future toxicological and metabolic studies.     

Adaptive Geometric Tessellation for 3D Reconstruction of Anisotropically Developing Cells in Multilayer Tissues from Sparse Volumetric Microscopy Images

The need for quantification of cell growth patterns in a multilayer, multi-cellular tissue necessitates the development of a 3D reconstruction technique that can estimate 3D shapes and sizes of individual cells from Confocal Microscopy (CLSM) image slices. However, the current methods of 3D reconstruction using CLSM imaging require large number of image slices per cell. But, in case of Live Cell Imaging of an actively developing tissue, large depth resolution is not feasible in order to avoid damage to cells from prolonged exposure to laser radiation. In the present work, we have proposed an anisotropic Voronoi tessellation based 3D reconstruction framework for a tightly packed multilayer tissue with extreme z-sparsity (2–4 slices/cell) and wide range of cell shapes and sizes. The proposed method, named as the ‘Adaptive Quadratic Voronoi Tessellation’ (AQVT), is capable of handling both the sparsity problem and the non-uniformity in cell shapes by estimating the tessellation parameters for each cell from the sparse data-points on its boundaries. We have tested the proposed 3D reconstruction method on time-lapse CLSM image stacks of the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem (SAM) and have shown that the AQVT based reconstruction method can correctly estimate the 3D shapes of a large number of SAM cells.     

Tissue hemolysins as lysin-inhibitor complexes

1. Lytic substances are enzymatically produced at 37°C. from tissue slices or homogenates (mouse liver, kidney, etc.) and appear in the medium in which the tissue fragments are suspended. Their concentration increases with the time during which the tissue is kept at 37°C. (preincubation), and is accompanied by pH changes, so that the lytic activity as finally measured is a function of both the time of preincubation and of the pH. The optimum pH for lysin production is above 7.0, but the lysins, once produced, hemolyze red cells more rapidly at low pH's than at high ones. The enzyme system which produces the lysins is inactivated by heating to 100°C. for 5 minutes. Sodium iodoacetate and fluoride interfere with lysin production principally by reducing the concomitant pH shift; KCN accelerates the production of lytic material in mouse liver homogenates. 2. Comparison of the lytic activity of the supernatant fluid of a preincubated homogenate with the much greater lytic activity of the substances which can be extracted from the same supernatant fluid by alcohol and ether points to these extractable substances existing in the supernatant fluid as lysin-inhibitor complexes of relatively low lytic activity. These complexes are formed enzymatically during preincubation from non-lytic complexes in the tissue. The latter may be lipoproteins, and the highly lytic ether-extractable substances may be fatty acids or their soaps. 3. The diffusibility of the lysin-inhibitor complexes is small. 4. Lytic substances which are ether-insoluble can be extracted with alcohol from tissues as well as from serum. These "lysolecithin-like" substances exist in the supernatant fluids of homogenates as lysin-inhibitor complexes. 5. Lysis of mouse red cells by substances contained in mouse tissue (liver and kidney) is often accompanied by the formation of methemoglobin and choleglobin. Mouse red cells containing choleglobin are abnormally fragile both osmotically and mechanically, and it is possible that a process involving the production of choleglobin, accompanied or followed by globin denaturation, is one which contributes towards the hemolysis which occurs in systems containing tissue slices or homogenates.     

Degradation of benzyldimethylalkylammonium chloride by Aeromonas hydrophila sp. K

AIMS: The aim of this work was to study the biodegradation of benzyldimethylalkylammonium chloride (BAC) by Aeromonas hydrophila sp. K, an organism isolated from polluted soil and capable of utilizing BAC as sole source of carbon and energy. METHODS AND RESULTS: High performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used to study BAC degradation pathway. It was shown that during BAC biodegradation, formation of benzyldimethylamine, benzylmethylamine, benzylamine, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid occurred. Formation of benzyldimethylamine as the initial metabolite suggested that the cleavage of Calkyl-N bond occurred as the first step of BAC catabolism. Liberation of benzylmethylamine and benzylamine likely resulted from subsequent demethylation reactions, followed by deamination with formation of benzaldehyde. Benzaldehyde was rapidly converted into benzoic acid, which was further degraded. CONCLUSIONS: Aer. hydrophila sp. K is able to degrade BAC. A degradation pathway for BAC and related compounds is proposed. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: These findings are significant for understanding biodegradation pathways of benzyl-containing quaternary ammonium compounds.     

Organotypic heart slices for cell transplantation and physiological studies

Recent studies have significantly improved our ability to investigate cell transplantation and study the physiology of transplanted cells in cardiac tissue. Several previous studies have shown that fully-immersed heart slices can be used for electrophysiological investigations. Additionally, ischemic heart slices induced by glucose and oxygen deprivation offer a useful tool to investigate mechanical integration and to measure forces of contraction of engrafted cells, at least for short term analysis. A recent and novel model of heart slices, prepared from rat and human tissues, can be maintained in culture for up to two months. This new heart slice model can be used for long term in vitro cell transplantation studies and for pharmacological evaluation. This review will focus on describing these models and demonstrating the use of organotypic heart slices as a novel tool for drug, for studying electrophysiology and for developing cellular therapeutic approaches to alleviate cardiac tissue damage.     

Cellulose synthase interactive protein 1 (CSI1) mediates the intimate relationship between cellulose microfibrils and cortical microtubules

Cellulose is synthesized at the plasma membrane by protein complexes known as cellulose synthase complexes (CSCs). The cellulose-microtubule alignment hypothesis states that there is a causal link between the orientation of cortical microtubules and orientation of nascent cellulose microfibrils. The mechanism behind the alignment hypothesis is largely unknown. CESA interactive protein 1 (CSI1) interacts with CSCs and potentially links CSCs to the cytoskeleton. CSI1 not only co-localizes with CSCs but also travels bi-directionally in a speed indistinguishable from CSCs. The linear trajectories of CSI1-RFP coincide with the underlying microtubules labeled by YFP-TUA5. In the absence of CSI1, both the distribution and the motility of CSCs are defective and the alignment of CSCs and microtubules is disrupted. These observations led to the hypothesis that CSI1 directly mediates the interaction between CSCs and microtubules. In support of this hypothesis, CSI1 binds to microtubules directly by an in vitro microtubule-binding assay. In addition to a role in serving as a messenger from microtubule to CSCs, CSI1 labels SmaCCs/MASCs, a compartment that has been proposed to be involved in CESA trafficking and/or delivery to the plasma membrane.