Probing the structure of cytoplasm

We have used size-fractionated, fluorescent dextrans to probe the structure of the cytoplasmic ground substance of living Swiss 3T3 cells by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and video image processing. The data indicate that the cytoplasm of living cells has a fluid phase viscosity four times greater than water and contains structural barriers that restrict free diffusion of dissolved macromolecules in a size-dependent manner. Assuming these structural barriers comprise a filamentous meshwork, the combined fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and imaging data suggest that the average pore size of the meshwork is in the range of 300 to 400 A, but may be as small as 200 A in some cytoplasmic domains.     

Behavior of a fluorescent analogue of calmodulin in living 3T3 cells

We have prepared and partially characterized a lissamine-rhodamine B fluorescent analogue of calmodulin, LRB-CM. The analogue had a dye/protein ratio of approximately 1.0 and contained no free dye or contaminating labeled proteins. LRB-CM was indistinguishable from native calmodulin upon SDS PAGE and in assays of phosphodiesterase and myosin light chain kinase. The emission spectrum of LRB-CM was insensitive to changes in pH, ionic strength, and temperature over the physiological range, but the apparent quantum yield was influenced somewhat by divalent cation concentration. LRB-CM injected into living Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts became associated with nitrobenzoxadiazole-phallacidin staining stress fibers in some interphase cells. LRB-CM and acetamidofluorescein-labeled actin co-injected into the same cell both became associated with fibers in some cells, but in most cases association of the two analogues with fibers was mutually exclusive. This suggests that calmodulin may differ from actin in the timing of incorporation into stress fibers or that we have distinguished distinct populations of stress fibers. We were able to detect no direct interaction of LRB-CM with actin by fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FRAP) of aqueous solutions. Interaction of LRB-CM with myosin light chain kinase also was not detected by FRAP. This suggests that the mean lifetime of the calmodulin-myosin light chain kinase complex is too short to affect the diffusion coefficient of calmodulin. We examined various fluorescent derivatives of proteins and dextrans as suitable control molecules for quantitative fluorescent analogue cytochemistry in living cells. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextrans were found to be preferable to all the proteins tested, since their mobilities in cytoplasm were inversely dependent on molecular size and there was no evidence of binding to intracellular components. In contrast, FRAP of LRB-CM in the cytoplasm of living 3T3 cells suggested that the analogue interacts with intracellular components with a range of affinities. The mobility of LRB-CM in the cytoplasm was sensitive to treatment of the cells with trifluoperazine, which suggests that at least some of the intracellular binding sites are specific for calmodulin in the calcium-bound form. FRAP of LRB-CM in the nuclei of living 3T3 cells indicated that the analogue was highly mobile within the nucleus but entered the nucleus from the cytoplasm much more slowly than fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran of comparable molecular size and much more slowly than predicted from its mobility in cytoplasm.     

A method for incorporating macromolecules into adherent cells

We describe a simple method for loading exogenous macromolecules into the cytoplasm of mammalian cells adherent to tissue culture dishes. Culture medium was replaced with a thin layer of fluorescently labeled macromolecules, the cells were harvested from the substrate by scraping with a rubber policeman, transferred immediately to ice cold media, washed, and then replated for culture. We refer to the method as "scrape-loading." Viability of cells was 50-60% immediately after scrape-loading and was 90% for those cells remaining after 24 h of culture. About 40% of adherent, well-spread fibroblasts contained fluorescent molecules 18 h after scrape-loading of labeled dextrans, ovalbumin, or immunoglobulin-G. On average, 10(7) dextran molecules (70,000-mol wt) were incorporated into each fibroblast by scrape-loading in 10 mg/ml dextran. The extent of loading depended on the concentration and molecular weight of the dextrans used. A fluorescent analog of actin could also be loaded into fibroblasts where it labeled stress fibers. HeLa cells, a macrophage-like cell line, 1774A.1, and human neutrophils were all successfully loaded with dextran by scraping. The method of scrape-loading should be applicable to a broad range of adherent cell types, and useful for loading of diverse kinds of macromolecules.     

Fluorescence photobleaching recovery in solutions of labeled actin.

We have demonstrated that the technique of fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR) can be used to examine the state of a single component in complex self-assembling macromolecular systems. Polymerization of actin, initiated by addition of salt or Mg+2 to a low-ionic-strength solution of G-actin, has been observed by sequential measurement of FPR with the aid of fluorescein-labeled actin. Solutions of actin which had been labeled using 5-iodoacetamido fluorescein (5-IAF) showed anomalous recovery of fluorescence above the initial value, which indicates a photoinduced increase in local polymerization. No such anomaly was observed with actin that had been labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The FPR data are directly interpretable in terms of the fraction of labeled protein that is immobilized in the supramolecular assembly and in terms of the average diffusion coefficient of the mobile fraction. Our data are consistent with the "treadmill" model of actin polymerization, in that they show that actin is present under polymerizing conditions either as a high polymer or as monomer or low oligomer. We believe that the FPR technique can be applied to the study of many types of reconstituted motile or cytoskeletal systems in vitro or in vivo.     

Fenofibrate prevents and reduces body weight gain and adiposity in diet-induced obese rats

Fibrates are hypolipidemic drugs that activate the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. Since fibrates may also increase energy expenditure, we investigated whether fenofibrate (FF) had this effect in diet-induced obese rats. A 2-month administration of a high-fat palatable diet to adult rats increased body weight by 25% and white adipose mass by 163% compared with a standard diet. These effects were prevented by FF, both when administered for the 2 months of high-fat feeding and when given for only the second month. Consequently, FF-treated rats had a final body weight and white adipose tissue mass similar to untreated animals on the standard diet. FF also increased resting metabolic rate, hepatic peroxisomal and mitochondrial palmitoyl-dependent oxygen uptake and mRNA levels of acyl-CoA oxidase and lipoprotein lipase. Finally, FF lowered mRNA levels of uncoupling protein-2 and did not affect mitochondrial respiration in skeletal muscle. Therefore, FF seems to act as a weight-stabilizer mainly through its effect on liver metabolism.     

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial free-fatty-acid content and membrane potential sensitivity in different thyroid states: involvement of uncoupling protein-3 and adenine nucleotide translocase

The effect of triiodothyronine (T3) on mitochondrial efficiency could be related to an increase in the concentrations of some proteins, such as uncoupling proteins (UCPs). Free fatty acids (FFA) seem to be a cofactor essential for the uncoupling activity of UCP3. In this paper, we report that the hypothyroidism-hyperthyroidism transition is accompanied by increases: (i) in the endogenous levels of mitochondrial FFA and (ii) in the sensitivity to FFA shown by the mitochondrial respiration rate and membrane potential, which correlated with the level of UCP3 protein. The level of the mRNA for adenine-nucleotide translocase-1 (ANT) was not affected by the thyroid state, while the ANT contribution to FFA-induced changes in mitochondrial uncoupling was low in the hypothyroid and euthyroid states but became more relevant in the hyperthyroid state at the highest concentration of FFA.     

De novo expression of uncoupling protein 3 is associated to enhanced mitochondrial thioesterase-1 expression and fatty acid metabolism in liver of fenofibrate-treated rats

Clavaminate synthase (CAS), a 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent dioxygenase, catalyses three steps in the biosynthesis of clavulanic acid. Crystals of CAS complexed with Fe(II), 2OG and deoxyguanidinoproclavaminate were exposed to nitric oxide (NO) acting as a dioxygen analogue. Prior to exposure with NO, the active site Fe(II) is octahedrally coordinated by a water molecule, the 2-oxo and 1-carboxylate groups of 2OG, and the side-chains of an aspartyl and two histidinyl residues. NO binds to the position previously occupied by the 2OG 1-carboxylate concomitant with rearrangement of the latter to the position previously occupied by the displaced water.