A controlled silver impregnation method to characterize cultured cardiomyocytes

A morphological characterization of cultured cardiomyocytes was attempted using a modification of a silver impregnation technique originally described for connective tissue. Cardiac cells, obtained from newborn rats and grown as dissociated cultures on plastic surfaces, were fixed in methanol plus 5% glacial acetic acid, treated with potassium permanganate, decolorized in oxalic acid, sensitized with potassium bichromate, impregnated with a silver-ammonium complex, reduced in gelatin-formalin preparation, toned with gold chloride and fixed in sodium thiosulfate. The cultured cardiac cells tended to form a monolayer, although many myocytes remained isolated. Spherical nuclei, sharply stained with silver, were centrally located and surrounded by relatively plentiful cytoplasm packed with well delineated myofibrils. Contaminating fibroblasts were readily distinguished by their spindle-shaped nuclei and the presence of overstained collagen fibers, as well as the absence of myofibrils. In the absence of specific antibody for immunocytochemical identification of cardiomyocytes, morphological characterization of cell type and degree of differentiation by the controlled silver impregnation procedure described here provides a viable alternative, both in short- and long-term studies.     

Studies on the function of Rho A protein in cardiac myofibrillogenesis

The aim of this study was to provide morphological evidence for the presence of rho A protein in developing cardiomyocytes and to investigate its possible role in myofibrillogenesis. Immunostaining with a monoclonal anti-rho antibody gave a diffuse pattern in the cytosol of cultured cardiomyocytes. Introduction of C3 exoenzyme into the cells by electroporation was used to inactivate rho A protein by ADP-ribosylation. An immunostaining with anti-vinculin, anti-talin, and anti-integrin antibodies showed the focal adhesions in electroporation control cardiomyocytes to be evenly distributed in the ventral sarcolemma; the costameric structure was also detected using these antibodies. In contrast, in C3 exoenzyme treated cells, focal adhesions were disassembled and costamere were absent; in addition, β-actin-positive, non-striated fibrils were lost and assembly of M-protein, titin, and α-actinin into myofibrils was poor, as shown by diffuse and filamentous staining pattern. C3 exoenzyme treatment had a less marked effect on mature cardiomyocytes than on immature cells; in this case, cells became distorted and few myofibrils were seen. The intensity of anti-phosphotyrosine antibody staining of the focal adhesion was also decreased or diffuse in C3 exoenzyme-treated cardiomyocytes, suggesting dephosphorylation of focal adhesion components. We therefore conclude that small G protein rho A plays an important role in myofibril assembly in cardiomyocytes. J. Cell. Biochem. 66:43–53, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

培养成年大鼠心肌细胞存活的形态标志

目的：通过探寻增加培养成年大鼠心肌细胞存活率以及防止再分化的方法,揭示培养成年大鼠心肌细胞存活的形态标志。方法：采用Langendorff系统灌流心脏,胶原酶消化法分离成年大鼠心肌细胞,分3组进行细胞培养：①基础培养液＋凋亡抑制剂;②基础培养液＋5%胎牛血清;③基础培养液＋5%胎牛血清＋凋亡抑制剂。结果：①培养前3天杆状心肌细胞比例逐渐降低,无血清培养组比血清培养组降低程度大。培养前3天凋亡率逐渐升高,无血清培养组比血清培养组凋亡率高,加入凋亡抑制剂对凋亡率无影响。②有血清培养2~3天的成年大鼠心肌细胞闰盘部位伸出伪足,促使细胞贴壁生长;当培养至第6天时,细胞侧面也伸展出贴壁的伪足,细胞丧失杆状形态,横纹消失。而无血清培养的细胞无伪足生成,随着培养时间增加,细胞末端变圆钝,横纹变模糊。凋亡抑制剂对伪足形成率无影响。③培养存活的成年大鼠心肌细胞骨架重排,发生再分化。④血清培养组细胞胞内核间距离随着培养时间的增加而减小,无血清培养组则保持不变。结论：成年大鼠心肌细胞培养至第2~3天时,闰盘部位形成伪足是细胞存活的形态标志,加入血清是伪足形成的必要条件。     

Suppression of cardiac troponin T induces reduction of contractility and structural disorganization in chicken cardiomyocytes

We herein examine the effect of cardiac troponin T (CTnT) suppression in cultured chicken cardiomyocytes derived from embryonic cardiac ventricular muscle. TnT is an important protein participating in regulation of striated muscle contraction, but it is not clear whether TnT contributes to the formation of sarcomere structure in myofibrils. Double-stranded RNA homologous to the nucleotide sequence of CTnT (CTnT-siRNA) was introduced into cultured muscle cells two days after plating. Transfection efficiency was above 80%. Immunoblot analyses suggested that the expression of CTnT progressively falls for the three consecutive days after transfection, but partly reappears on the fourth day. Maximum suppression occurs three days after transfection, with almost invisible CTnT protein on immunoblots in all the examined conditions: 0.5-2 nmol CTnT-siRNA towards 1-3 x 10(6) cells. The suppression was specific to CTnT, and the other myofibrillar proteins such as myosin, connectin/titin, tropomyosin, alpha-actinin, and troponin I were all present in transfected cells. The following functional and morphological changes were detected in CTnT-suppressed cells. The population of beating cells decreased significantly after transfection, when compared to control cells. A part of CTnT-suppressed cells showed two non-overlapping types of morphological changes: 1) myofibrils presenting unusually long Z-Z intervals; 2) myofibrils with irregular small striations in cells not connected at their adhesion interfaces of a jagged-appearance. Thus, our results reveal that CTnT is important for stable beating in cultured ventricular muscle cells, and also to some extent, for maintaining myofibrillar structure and cell-to-cell adhesion.     

Dynamics of lesions to the myocardium in experimental hyper- cholesterolemia

Dynamics of changes in the myocardium of rabbits subjected to food hypercholesterolemia lasting from 6 to 16 weeks was investigated. An intensification of coronary atheromatosis was proportional to the duration of the high-cholesterol diet. There were observed focal and growing in time damages of cardiomyocytes. They were sharply outlined in atherosclerotically changed coronary arteries. The following morphological and histochemical changes have been observed: increased acidophilia and fuchsinophilia in the single and grouped muscle fibres, foci of infiltrations by mononuclear cells, contraction bands, and outlines of myocardial fibres, separation of myofibrils, granular disintegration of cardiomyocytes, healed infarcts, depletion and excessive accumulation of glycogen in muscle fibres, presence of neutral fats, cholesterol and its esters in atheromatous plaques of coronary arteries, presence of neutral fats in some cardiomyocytes: focal acid phosphates, loss of activity of Mg- and Ca-dependent ATPases and SDH: oedema of mitochondria with disorganization of cristae, disorganisation of fibres and lysis of myofilaments, margination of chromatin in cardiomyocyte nuclei, increased number of lysosomes, intensified symptoms of egzocytosis, widening of channels of sarcoplasmatic reticulum, oedema of endothelium of capillary vessels and increased number of the collagenous fibres in the interstitial space. The results of histological, histochemical and microscopic-electron investigations correlated with each other. It may be considered that the observed damages of cardiomyocytes precede myocardial infarction and result from progressive and increasing ischemia, hypoxia and accumulation of fat substances and cholesterol and its esters in intima of coronary arterioles as well as in cardiomyocytes.     

Remodelling of cardiomyocyte cytoarchitecture visualized by three-dimensional (3D) confocal microscopy

The break-down and reassembly of myofibrils in long-term cultures of adult rat cardiomyocytes was investigated by a novel combination of confocal laser scanning microscopy and three-dimensional image reconstruction, referred to as FTCS, to visualize the morphological changes these cells undergo in culture. FTCS is discussed as an alternative imaging mode to low-magnification scanning electron microscopy. The three-dimensional shape of the cells are correlated with the assembly state of myofibrils in different stages. Based on immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy it was shown that myofibrils are degraded within a few days after plating and that newly assembled myofibrils are predominantly confined to the continuous area in the perinuclear region close to the membrane in contact with the substratum. The localization of myofibrils along the cell's vertical axis has been investigated both by optical sectioning using confocal light microscopy and by physical sectioning following by transmission electron microscopy. Based on the distribution of myofibrillar proteins we propose a model of myofibrillar growth locating the putative assembly sites to a region concentric around the nuclei. We provide evidence that the cell shape is dominated by the myofibrillar apparatus.     

Immunocytochemical analysis of the regeneration of myofibrils in long-term cultures of adult cardiomyocytes of the rat

Dissociated adult rat ventricular cardiomyocytes obtained from hearts by retrograde perfusion with collagenase were investigated in long-term cultures. Myofibril regeneration, isoprotein transition of alpha- and beta-myosin heavy chain (MHC), and M-band localization of M-creatine kinase in the reconstituting heart cells were studied. Myofibril formation was demonstrated by the use of antibodies against either cardiac C-protein or myomesin as early differentiation markers. Four days after plating, small myofibrils could be identified in attached cells in a perinuclear fashion; later in culture the cells displayed various shapes and myofibril distribution. Frequently a patchy distribution of myofibrils within the extending peripheral processes could be observed. Colocalization of sarcomeres and phalloidin-stained F-actin filament bundles was demonstrated by double fluorescence staining and by the use of high intensifying video microscopy and computerized image processing. The immunofluorescence distribution of alpha- and beta-MHC isoproteins in newly isolated and cultured cardiomyocytes changed from 100% alpha-MHC and 70% beta-MHC in rod-shaped cells to about 100% beta-MHC and 70% alpha-MHC in spread out cultured cells. This shift was corroborated by a relative gradual decline in alpha-MHC at the expense of increasing amounts of beta-MHC with time in culture as assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis of total cell homogenates. In addition, whereas rod-shaped newly isolated cardiomyocytes showed a clear M-band association of M-creatine kinase as found in adult heart tissue, adult cultivated spread out cells did not show a cross-striated pattern after incubation with antibody. Taken together, these observations suggest that adult cardiomyocytes not only undergo extensive morphological transitions in long-term cultures, but also generate new myofibrillar structures lacking M-creatine kinase and containing the beta-MHC, thus fitting the characteristics of fetal myofibrils. These results indicate a change from the adult terminally differentiated to a less differentiated state of the cardiac cells in culture.     

Dedifferentiated cardiomyocytes from chronic hibernating myocardium are ischemia-tolerant

Left ventricular biopsies from 21 patients with clinically diagnosed chronic hibernating myocardium (CHM) were examined by light- and electron microscopy. A mean of 27% of cardiomyocytes were structurally altered and were characterized as hibernating, because of reduced amount of myofibrils and increased glycogen content. Electron microscopy of these cells showed reduction of T-tubules and numerous small mitochondria, but few changes associated with degeneration, acute ischemia or apoptosis. The structural changes found in CHM are reminiscent of dedifferentiation rather than degeneration. The expression patterns of some structural proteins show resemblance with those in embryonic cardiomyocytes.Histochemically, mitochondrial NADH-oxidase and proton translocating ATPase activities were absent, whereas cytochrome c activity was present. Intracellular calcium distribution indicated normally bound sarcolemmal calcium and absence of excess mitochondrial calcium accumulation. Nuclear chromatin ranged from normal to dispersed with only a few nuclei that were clumped. These results suggest that cardiomyocytes from human CHM hearts are structurally altered, but viable, and lack morphologic and cytochemical characteristics suggestive of apoptosis or acute ischemia.     

Experimental studies of mechanisms involved in methods demonstrating axonal and terminal degeneration

Factors influencing the consistency and specificity of the staining of neuronal degeneration products were studied in brain sections by varying systematically the composition of solutions used in the steps which are common to the degeneration methods. The formation of nuclei of metallic silver was determined either by physical development of 110Ag, after dissolving reducible silver by acetic acid. In degenerating axons metallic silver nucleic are formed by their own reducing groups in the first (acid) and in the second (alkaline) impregnating bath. The first impregnation turned out to be sufficient to produce complete staining of degenerating axons. The reducing capacity of normal axons and myelin can be suppressed by oxidation or by lowering the pH of the impregnating solution. Degenerating axon terminals are not able to reduce silver ions in either of the impregnating baths. Rather, the metallic silver nuclei initiating their staining are formed in the Nauta reducer by interaction of its reducing agent (formol) with silver ions which had been trapped in the tissue during the impregnation. Thus the nuclei are enlarged to microscopic visibility by a nonstandardized physical developer coming about from the Nauta reducer and the silver ions transferred with the sections. In this reaction catalytic sites in degenerating terminals as well as ammonium ions and the alkali reserve of the tissue play an important role. On the basis of the present results it was possible to stabilize the conditions for staining degenerating axons and degenerating axons terminals in two separate staining procedures detailed in following papers.     

Organization of calsequestrin-positive sarcoplasmic reticulum in rat cardiomyocytes in culture

The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) regulates the levels of cytoplasmic free Ca²⁺ ions in muscle cells. Calsequestrin is a major Ca²⁺ -storing protein and is localized at special sites in the SR. To investigate the development of calsequestrin-positive SR and its interaction with the cytoskeleton, we examined the distribution of calsequestrin in cultured cardiomyocytes from newborn rats by immunofluorescence with anticalsequestrin and antitubulin antibodies and rhodamine-phalloidin. In frozen sections of neonatal rat heart, anticalsequestrin immunostaining was apparent as cross-striations at Z-lines. When newborn cardiomyocytes were isolated, calsequestrin-positive SR was disorganized and was apparent as small vesicles beneath the sarcolemma, whereas myofibrils accumulated in the center of the cells. As the cells spread in culture, calsequestrin-positive vesicles spread to the periphery of the cytoplasm, becoming associated with the developing myofibrils. In mature cells, calsequestrin was closely associated with myofibrils, showing cross-striations at the Z-lines. Double-labeling using anticalsequestrin and antitubulin antibodies demonstrated that the distribution of calsequestrin-positive structures was similar to that of the microtubular arrays. When the microtubules were depolymerized by nocodazole at an early stage, the extension of the SR to the cell periphery was inhibited. In mature cardiomyocytes, nocodazole appeared not to affect the distribution of the SR. These results indicate that the calsequestrin-positive SR in cardiomyocytes is organized at the proper sites of myofibrils during myofibrillogenesis and that the microtubules might serve as tracts for the transport of components of the SR. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Fatty acid composition in fetal, neonatal, and cultured cardiomyocytes in rats

Reconstructed myocardial tissue still does not have enough pulsatile contraction. It is well known that fetal and mature neonatal cardiomyocytes utilize glucose and lipid, respectively, as their energy substrates, and that cultured ones mainly use glucose in spite of their age comparable to neonate ones, probably due to insufficient supply of lipids from culture medium. In the present study, we compared 7 saturated, 6 monounsaturated, and 11 polyunsaturated fatty acid contents in cultured cardiomyocytes (Cul group) with those in fetal (Fet group, approximately 17 d after impregnation) and neonatal (Neo group, 9 d old) rats, where the age of the Cul cells were set nearly equal to the Neo ones. Saturated fatty acid contents in the Cul group were generally lower than those in the Fet group and were close to those in the Neo group, except for C12:0 of which content was highest in the Neo group. Monounsaturated fatty acid contents in the Cul group were generally lower than those in the Fet group but similar to or higher than those in the Neo group, except for C24:1n-9 of which content was again highest in the Neo group. In contrast, most of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents in the Cul group appeared lower than those in both the Fet and Neo groups, and differences in 5 of 10 detected PUFAs were significant between the Cul and Neo groups. The results suggest that PUFA contents in cultured cardiomyocytes might be insufficient to exert enough contractile ability. In conclusion, it could be necessary for cultured cardiomyocytes to uptake more lipid; PUFAs in particular.     

An ultrastructural stereological analysis of the myocardium in homoiothermal animals during cooling]

By methods of electron microscopy and stereology the ultrastructural cardiomyocyte reorganization of rats exposed to influence of low temperatures (exposure during 16 days at -7 degrees C) was studied. It was shown, that with this regime of cooling the disturbance of intracellular regeneration in cardiomyocytes occurred and the complex of morphological changes typical for the syndrome of regenerative-plastic deficiency was developed. The most essential changes were seen in myofibrils and mitochondria. According to the stereologic data a change in spatial reorganization of cardiomyocytes was connected largely with these organelles. With the increase in cooling duration an increase in the volume density of myofibrils and a decrease in this parameter for mitochondria were marked. As a result of these changes the mitochondria/myofibrils volume ratio was essentially decreased. As a whole, ultrastructural reorganization of cardiomyocytes under the influence of low temperatures on rats was characterized by a decrease in the ratio of the organelle volume to myofibrillar volume. The same quantitative reorganization was revealed in atrophied cardiomyocytes under the conditions of the decreased inflow of plastic substances to cells.     

The Golgi-Hortega-Lavilla technique, with a useful additional step for application to brain tissue after prolonged fixation

The Golgi-Hortega-Lavilla silver impregnation technique was successfully applied to brain slices of various species that had been fixed for six to 24 months in a glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde fixative. The procedure is described in detail. Aside from being able to use material after prolonged fixation, the technique has the following advantages: 1) the impregnation is stable and yields constant results at all levels of the central nervous system, and 2) contrast is enhanced because any background precipitate that forms during staining is cleared with potassium cyanide. The possibility of using this method on material held in fixative for even longer periods is suggested.     

Experimental Studies of Mechanisms Involved in Methods Demonstrating Axonal and Terminal Degeneration

Factors influencing the consistency and specificity of the staining of neuronal degeneration products were studied in brain sections by varying systematically the composition of solutions used in the steps which are common to the degeneration methods. The formation of nuclei of metallic silver was determined either by physical development or ¹¹⁰Ag, after dissolving reducible silver by acetic acid. In degenerating axons metallic silver nuclei are formed by their own reducing groups in the first (acid) and in the second (alkaline) impregnating bath. The first impregnation turned out to be sufficient to produce complete staining of degenerating axons. The reducing capacity of normal axons and myelin can be suppressed by oxidation or by lowering the pH of the impregnating solution. Degenerating axon terminals are not able to reduce silver ions in either of the impregnating baths. Rather, the metallic silver nuclei initiating their staining are formed in the Nauta reducer by interaction of its reducing agent (formol) with silver ions which had been trapped in the tissue during the impregnation. Thus the nuclei are enlarged to microscopic visibility by a nonstandardized physical developer coming about from the Nauta reducer and the silver ions transferred with the sections. In this reaction catalytic sites in degenerating terminals as well as ammonium ions and the alkali reserve of the tissue play an important role. On the basis of the present results it was possible to stabilize the conditions for staining degenerating axons and degenerating axon terminals in two separate staining procedures detailed in following papers.     

The Golgi-Hortega-Lavilla Technique, with a Useful Additional Step for Application to Brain Tissue After Prolonged Fixation

The Golgi-Hortega-Lavilla silver impregnation technique was successfully applied to brain slices of various species that had been fixed for six to 24 months in a glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde fixative. The procedure is described in detail. Aside from being able to use material after prolonged fixation, the technique has the following advantages: 1) the impregnation is stable and yields constant results at all levels of the central nervous system, and 2) contrast is enhanced because any background precipitate that forms during staining is cleared with potassium cyanide. The possibility of using this method on material held in fixative for even longer periods is suggested.     

A Modified Silver Impregnation Technique for the Observation of Thick Sections of Lymph Nodes Perfused with Colloidal Carbon

For many years, a variant of the silver impregnation technique of Bielchowsky has been used to study the lymph node because it clearly outlines the various structures which are usually hard to contrast with standard staining methods. Like other variants of silver impregnation, this method blackens the cell nuclei as well as the reticular fibers; however, it inhibits the impregnation of the nuclear chromatin immediately adjacent to fibers. Hence, this variant selectively darkens the lymphoid cell populations of the nodal structures which contain a loose fiber network.

To study the blood vascular network of the lymph node based on perfusion of colloidal carbon, a staining procedure was needed which would contrast nodal structures on thick sections, while allowing the carbon-filled small blood vessels to be distinguished from the impregnated coarse reticular fibers. In an attempt to adapt this variant of Bielchowsky's technique, 10, 20, 40 and 60 nm thick sections from rat nodes, fixed in a solution of Bouin-Hollande for 72 hr, were silver impregnated with serial dilutions (1:2 to 1:128) of the ammoniacal silver solution. Forty-micrometer thick sections impregnated with a 1:16 dilution of the original silver solution at 37 C and for 30 min provided the best results for the conditions.     

Rearrangement of tubulin, actin, and myosin in cultured ventricular cardiomyocytes of the adult rat

Antitubulin, phalloidin, and antimyosin were used to study the distribution of microtubules, microfilaments, and myofibrils in cultured adult cardiomyocytes. These cells undergo a stereotypic sequence of morphological change in which myotypic features are lost and then reconstructed during a period of polymorphic growth. Microtubules, though rearranged during these events in culture, are always present in an organized network. Myosin and actin structures, on the other hand, initially degenerate. This initial degeneration is reversed when a cell attaches to the culture substratum. Upon attachment, new microtubules are laid down as a cortical network adjacent to the sarcolemma and, subsequently, as a network in the basal part of the cell. Actin and then myosin filament bundles appear next, in a pattern corresponding to the pattern of the microtubules. Finally, striated myofibrils are formed, first in the central part of the cell, and subsequently in the outgrowing processes of the cell. A mechanism is suggested by which the eventual polymorphic shape of a cell is related to the shape of its initial area of contact with the culture substratum. Finally, a model of myofibrillogenesis is proposed in which microtubules participate in the insertion of myosin among previously formed actin filament bundles to produce myofibrils.     

A silver impregnation technique for the study of steroid receptors in central nervous system tissue prepared for autoradiography

The commonly used silver stains were found to be unsatisfactory for nervous tissue processed for autoradiography. A silver impregnation procedure for central nervous system tissues prepared for the autoradiographic study of steroid receptors is described. The procedure is a combination of several silver and reticular strains made up in solutions containing dimethylsulfoxide. The technique clearly distinguishes perikarya of neurons, brain nuclei and fiber tracts without substantial loss of silver grains, and thus greatly facilitates the identification of steroid receptor nuclei at all levels of the central nervous system.     

Beating of multinucleated giant myocardial cells in culture

Cultured mouse myocardial cells grown as cell sheets in Petri dishes fused together and formed multinucleated giant cells on treatment with HVJ (Sendai virus). The giant cells had well organized myofibrils and beat spontaneously and rhythmically. The spontaneous beating activity of the giant cells changed in response to changes of the external potassium and calcium concentrations and on addition of ouabain in the same way as the beating of cultured myocardial cells not treated with HVJ. When a microelectrode was inserted into giant cells that exhibited spontaneous beating, action potentials were easily recorded.     

A Silver Impregnation Technique for the Study of Steroid Receptors in Central Nervous System Tissue Prepared for Autoradiography

The commonly used silver stains were found to be unsatisfactory for nervous tissue processed for autoradiography. A silver impregnation procedure for central nervous system tissues prepared for the autoradiographic study of steroid receptors is described. The procedure is a combination of several silver and reticular stains made up in solutions containing dimethylsulfoxide. The technique clearly distinguishes perikarya of neurons, brain nuclei and fiber tracts without substantial loss of silver grains, and thus greatly facilitates the identification of steroid receptor nuclei at all levels of the central nervous system.