Ultrastructural localization of albumin transport across the cerebral microvasculature during experimental meningitis in the rat.

Injury to the blood brain barrier (BBB) is a fundamental sequela of bacterial meningitis, yet the precise mechanism facilitating exudation of albumin across the endothelium of the cerebral microvasculature remains conjectural. After intracisternal inoculation of Escherichia coli (0111:B4) lipopolysaccharide in rats to elicit a reversible meningitis and BBB injury, we utilized in situ tracer perfusion and immunolabeling procedures to identify by transmission electron microscopy the precise topography and microvascular exit pathway(s) of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Results revealed that during meningitis there was: (a) an inducible increase in immunodetectable monomeric BSA binding to the luminal membrane of all microvascular segments in the pia-arachnoid and superficial brain cortex; (b) similar uptake of both colloidal Au-BSA (as well as monomeric BSA) by plasmalemmal vesicles but no detectable transcytosis to the abluminal side; and (c) predominant exit of both perfused Au-BSA and immunodetectable monomeric BSA through open intercellular junctions of venules in the pia-arachnoid. This was corroborated in separate experiments documenting focal pial venular leaks of in situ perfused 0.01% colloidal carbon black during experimental meningitis. These results provide precise localization of BBB injury in meningitis to meningeal venules, confirm a paracellular exit pathway of albumin via open intercellular junctions, and suggest an injury mechanism amenable to specific therapeutic intervention.

The Golgi apparatus: 100 years of progress and controversy.

Research on the Golgi apparatus has resulted in major advances in understanding its structure and functions, but many important questions remain unanswered. The history of the Golgi apparatus has been marked by arguments and controversies, some of which have been resolved, whereas others are still ongoing. This article charts progress in understanding the role of the Golgi apparatus during the 100 years since it was discovered, highlighting major milestones and discoveries that have led to the concepts of the organization and functions of this organelle that we have today.

Distribution of newly synthesized amylase in microsomal subfractions of guinea pigs pancreas.

Amylase distribution was studied in guinea pig pancreas microsomes fractionated by centrifuging, for 2 hr at 57,000 g in a linear 10 to 30% sucrose gradient, a resuspended high speed pellet obtained after treating microsomes with 0.04% deoxycholate (DOC).(1) Amylase appeared in the following positions in the gradient: (a) a light region which contained approximately 35% of total enzymic activity and which coincided with a monomeric ribosome peak; (b) a heavy region which contained approximately 10% of enzymic activity in a sharp peak but which had very little accompanying OD(260) absorption; (c) a pellet at the bottom of the centrifuge tube which contained approximately 20% of the enzymic activity. After 5 to 20 min' in vivo labeling with leucine-1-C(14), radioactive amylase was solubilized from these three fractions by a combined DOC-spermine treatment and purified by precipitation with glycogen, according to Loyter and Schramm. In all cases, the amylase found in the pellet had five to ten times the specific activity (CPM/enzymic activity) of the amylase found in the light or heavy regions of the gradient. The specific radioactivity (CPM/mg protein) of the proteins or peptides not extracted by DOC-spermine was similar for all three fractions. Hypotonic treatment of the fractions solubilized approximately 80% of the total amylase in the fraction from the heavy region of the gradient, but only approximately 20% of the amylase in the monomer or pellet fraction. Electron microscope observation indicates that the monomer region of the gradient contained only ribosomes, that the heavy region of the gradient contained small vesicles with relatively few attached ribosomes, and that the pellet was composed mostly of intact or ruptured microsomes with ribosomes still attached to their membranes. It is concluded from the above, and from other evidence, that most of the amylase activity in the monomer region is due to old, adsorbed enzyme; in the heavy region mostly to enzyme already inside microsomal vesicles; and in the pellet to a mixture of newly synthesized and old amylase still attached to ribosomes. Furthermore, the ribosomes with nascent, finished protein still bound to them are more firmly attached to the membranes than are ribosomes devoid of nascent protein.

Intestinal capillaries. II. Structural effects ofEDTA and histamine.

Perfusion of the fenestrated capillaries of the intestinal mucosa of the rat with 0.05-0.1 M EDTA removes the diaphragms of the endothelial cells and detaches these cells from one another and from the basement membrane. The latter, even when completely denuded, retains effectively particles of 340 A (average) diameter. Perfusion with histamine (1 microg/ml) results in partial removal of fenestral diaphragms, occasional detachment of the endothelium from the basement membrane, and focal separation of endothelial intercellular junctions.

Intestinal capillaries. I. Permeability to peroxidase and ferritin.

Horseradish peroxidase (mol. diam. approximately 50 A) and ferritin (mol. diam. approximately 110 A) were used as probe molecules for the small and large pore system, respectively, in blood capillaries of the intestinal mucosa of the mouse. Peroxidase distribution was followed in time, after intravenous injection, by applying the Graham-Karnovsky histochemical procedure to aldehyde-fixed specimens. The tracer was found to leave the plasma rapidly and to reach the pericapillary spaces 1 min post injection. Between 1 min and 1 min 30 sec, gradients of peroxidase reaction product could be demonstrated regularly around the capillaries; their highs were located opposite the fenestrated parts of the endothelium. These gradients were replaced by even distribution past 1 min 30 sec. Ferritin, followed directly by electron microscopy, appeared in the pericapillary spaces 3-4 min after i.v. injection. Like peroxidase, it initially produced transient gradients with highs opposite the fenestrated parts of the endothelium. For both tracers, there was no evidence of movement through intercellular junctions, and transport by plasmalemmal vesicles appeared less efficient than outflow through fenestrae. It is concluded that, in the blood capillaries of the inintestinal mucosa, the diaphragms of the endothelial fenestrae contain the structural equivalents of the small pore system. The large pore system seems to be restricted to a fraction of the fenestral population which presumably consists of diaphragm-free or diaphragm-deficient units.

Dextrans and glycogens as particulate tracers for studying capillary permeability.

Commercially available glycogens and dextrans can be used as biological particulate tracers in work on capillary permeability. These polysaccharides are well tolerated in intravenous injection and induce no vascular leakage when applied topically (cremaster test) in mice and in Wistar-Furth rats. The particles stain adequately with lead after aldehyde-OsO(4) fixation in phosphate buffer and provide a relatively wide set of probes ( approximately 45 A-300 A) for work on the large and small pore systems.

Presence of NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase in rat liver Golgi membranes. Evidence obtained by immunoadsorption method.

Light Golgi fractions (GF(1+2)) prepared from rat liver homogenates by a modification of the Ehrenreich et al. procedure (J. Cell Biol. 59:45) had significant NADPH-cytochrome P(450) reductase (NADPH-cyt c reductase) activity if assayed immediately after their isolation. An antibody raised in rabbits against purified microsomal and Golgi fractions. To find out whether this activity is located in bona fide Golgi elements or in contaminating microsomal vesicles, we used the following 3-step immunoadsorption procedure: (a) antirabbit IgG (raised in goats) was conjugated to small (2-5 mum) polycrylamide (PA) beads; (b) rabbit anti NADPH-cyt c reductase was immunoadsorbed to the antibody-coated beads; and (c) GF(1+2) was reacted with the beads carrying the two successive layers of antibodies. The beads were then recovered by centrifugation, and were washed, fixed, embedded in agarose, and processed for transmission electromicroscopy. Antireductase- coated beads absorbed 60 percent of the NADPH-cyt c reductase (and comparable fractions of NADH-cyt c reductase and glucose-6-phosphatase) but only 20 percent of the galactosyltransferase activity of the input GF(1+2). Differential vesicle counts showed that approximately 72 percent of the immunoadsorbed vesicles were morphologically recognizable Golgi elements (vesicles with very low density lipoprotein [VLDL] clusters or Golgi cisternae); vesicles with single VLDL and smooth surfaced microsome-like vesicles were too few (approximately 25 percent) to account for the activity. It is concluded that NADPH-cytochrome P(450) reductase is a Golgi membrane enzyme of probably uneven distribution among the elements of the Golgi complex.

Membrane and secretory proteins are transported from the Golgi complex to the sinusoidal plasmalemma of hepatocytes by distinct vesicular carriers.

From rat livers labeled in vivo for 30 min with [35S] cys-met, we have isolated two classes of vesicular carriers operating between the Golgi complex and the basolateral (sinusoidal) plasmalemma. The starting preparation is a Golgi light fraction (GLF) isolated by flotation in a discontinuous sucrose density gradient and processed through immunoisolation on magnetic beads coated with an antibody against the last 11 aa. of the pIgA-R tail. GLF and the ensuing subfractions (bound vs nonbound) were lysed, and the lysates processed through immunoprecipitation with anti-pIgA-R and anti-albumin antibodies followed by radioactivity counting, SDS-PAGE, and fluorography. The recovery of newly synthesized pIgA-R was > 90% and the distribution was 90% vs 10% in the bound vs nonbound subfractions, respectively. Albumin radioactivity was recovered to approximately 80%, with 20% and 80% in bound vs nonbound subfractions, respectively. Other proteins studied were: (a) secretory-apolipoprotein-B, prothrombin, C3 component of the complement, and caeruloplasmin; (b) membrane-transferrin receptor, EGR-receptor, asialoglycoprotein receptor, and the glucose transporter. In all the experiments we have performed, the secretory proteins distributed up to 85% in the nonbound subfraction (large secretory vacuoles), whereas the membrane proteins were segregated up to 95% in the bound subfraction (small vesicular carriers). These results suggest that in hepatocytes, membrane and secretory proteins are transported from the Golgi to the basolateral plasmalemma by separate vesicular carriers as in glandular cells capable of constitutive and regulated secretion.

Antibodies to rat pancreas Golgi subfractions: identification of a 58-kD cis-Golgi protein.

A 58-kD cis-Golgi protein has been identified by generating polyclonal antibodies against heavy (cis) Golgi subfractions. Total microsomes isolated from rat pancreatic homogenates were subfractionated to yield a rough microsomal fraction (B1) and three smooth membrane subfractions (B2-B4) enriched in cis-, middle, and trans-Golgi elements, respectively. The heavy (cis) subfraction, B2 (d = 1.17 g/ml), was fractionated by Triton X-114 phase separation, and the proteins recovered in the detergent phase were used to immunize rabbits. One of the anti-B2 antibodies obtained gave a "Golgi"-staining pattern when screened by immunofluorescence on normal rat kidney cells and mouse RPC 5.4 myeloma cells. In rat pancreatic exocrine cells the antibody reacted with the plasmalemma as well as elements in the Golgi region. By immunoelectron microscopy, the antigen recognized by anti-B2 IgG was found to be restricted to cis-Golgi elements in myeloma cells where it was concentrated in the fenestrated cis-most cisterna and in some of the tubules and vesicles located along the cis face of the Golgi complex. By immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting, the anti-B2 IgG exclusively recognized a 58-kD protein in myeloma cells. The anti-B2 IgG reacted with several proteins in solubilized pancreatic B2 membranes, including a 58-kD protein, but affinity-purified anti-58-kD IgG reacted exclusively with the 58-kD protein. These results suggest that the 58-kD protein is a specific component of cis-Golgi membranes.

Secretion granules of the rabbit parotid. Selective removal of secretory contaminants from granule membranes.

A membrane subfraction obtained from secretion granules isolated from rabbit parotid has been shown to be contaminated by residual secretory proteins to an estimated level of 25-30% of its total protein. In the present study an additional contaminant has been identified by improved mixing experiments and by comparative peptide mapping of specific polypeptides recovered from gels of membrane and content subfractions. This contaminant coelectrophoresis with (and probably comprises the bulk of) the majority component of the membrane subfraction (mol wt approximately 40,000). The contaminating polypeptides can be removed to a large extent by treating the membranes with low concentrations of saponin in the presence of 0.3 M Na2SO4. Although this treatment disrupts the typical bilayer structure of the granule membrane, it does not appear to cause dissociation of its phospholipids or bona fide membrane proteins.

Open junctions in the endothelium of the postcapillary venules of the diaphragm.

We have previously established that approximately 30% of the endothelial junctions in the pericytic venules of the mouse diaphragm are open to a gap of approximately 30--60 A, and are fully permeated by hemeundecapeptide (H11P) (mol diam approximately 20 A). To estimate the size limit for molecules that can permeate these junctions, we have administered graded tracers intravenously and studied their behavior at the level of pericytic venules in bipolar microvascular fields (BMFs) in the mouse diaphragm. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) (mol diam approximately 50 A) permeated only approximately 50% of the open junctions of the venular endothelium. Outflow through venular junctions appeared to be modest since the tracer remained restricted to the perivenular spaces. Hemoglobin (Hb, mol diam 64 x 55 x 50 A) permeated only a few (less than 5%), and ferritin (mol diam 110 A), practically none, of the endothelial junctions of the pericytic venules. The findings suggest that under normal conditions the size limit for permeant molecules for open venular junctions is approximately 60 A. Replicas of freeze-fracture preparations from appropriate regions in BMF showed that the intercellular junctions of the venular endothelium have the same organization as previously described for the corresponding segments of the microvasculature in the omentum and mesentery: discontinuous creases or grooves either free of or marked by few intramembrane particles only. Administration of histamine (topically or systemically) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) (topically) resulted in typical focal separations of the endothelial junctions and intramural deposits of large tracer particles (carbon black) in the postcapillary venules.

Biogenesis of chloroplast membranes. I. Plastid dedifferentiation in a dark-grown algal mutant (Chlamydomonas reinhardi).

This paper describes the morphology and photosynthetic activity of a mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardi (y-1) which is unable to synthesize chlorophyll in the dark. When grown heterotrophically in the light, the mutant is indistinguishable from the wild type Chlamydomonas. When grown in the dark, chlorophyll is diluted through cell division and the photosynthetic activity (oxygen evolution, Hill reaction, and photoreduction of NADP) decays at a rate equal to or faster than that of chlorophyll dilution. However, soluble enzymes associated with the photosynthetic process (alkaline FDPase, NADP-linked G-3-P dehydrogenase, RuDP carboxylase), as well as cytochrome f and ferredoxin, continue to be present in relatively high concentrations. The enzymes involved in the synthesis of the characteristic lipids of the chloroplast (including mono- and digalactoside glycerides, phosphatidyl glycerol, and sulfolipid) are still detectable in dark-grown cells. Such cells accumulate large amounts of starch granules in their plastids. On onset of illumination, dark-grown cells synthesize chlorophyll rapidly, utilizing their starch reserve in the process. At the morphological level, it was observed that during growth in the dark the chloroplast lamellar system is gradually disorganized and drastically decreased in extent, while other subchloroplast components are either unaffected (pyrenoid and its tubular system, matrix) or much less affected (eyespot, ribosomes). It is concluded that the dark-grown mutant possesses a partially differentiated plastid and the enzymic apparatus necessary for the synthesis of the chloroplast membranes (discs). The advantage provided by such a system for the study of the biogenesis of the chloroplast photosynthetic membranes is discussed.

Biogenesis of chloroplast membranes. II. Plastid differentiation during greening of a dark-grown algal mutant (Chlamydomonas reinhardi).

Dark-grown cells of the y-1 mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardi contain a partially differentiated plastid lacking the photosynthetic lamellar system. When exposed to the light, a rapid synthesis of photosynthetic membranes occurs accompanied by synthesis of chlorophyll, lipids, and protein and extensive degradation of the starch reserve. The process is continuously dependent on illumination and is completed within 6-8 hr in the absence of cell division. Photosynthetic activity (O(2) evolution, Hill reaction, NADP photo-reduction, and cytochrome f photooxidation) parallels the synthesis of pigment and membrane formation. During the greening process, only slight changes occur in the levels of soluble enzymes associated with the photosynthetic process (RuDP-carboxylase, NADP-linked G-3-P dehydrogenase, alkaline FDPase (pH 8)) as compared with the dark control. Also cytochrome f concentration remains almost constant during the greening process. The kinetics of the synthesis of chlorophyll, formation of photosynthetic membranes, and the restoration of photosynthetic activity suggest that the membranes are assembled from their constituents in a single-step process.

The structure of eosinophil leukocyte granules in rodents and in man.

The structure of the specific granules of eosinophil leukocytes has been studied by electron microscopy in sections of tissues, buffy coats, and sediments of peritoneal washings of rats, mice, guinea pigs, and men. The core of eosinophil granules is a crystal which has a cubic lattice with a repeat of approximately 30 A in rodents and approximately 40 A in man. The chemical composition of the core is discussed in connection with recent cell fractionation studies, and the hypothesis that the core is a crystal of peroxidase is considered.

Acid phosphatase localization in rabbit eosinophils.

Eosinophil (and heterophil) leukocytes of glycogen-induced rabbit peritoneal exudates were fixed for 1(1/2) min in 2% glutaraldehyde and examined for acid phosphatase activity both biochemically and cytochemically. Biochemical assays showed that enzymatic activity had been inhibited by only approximately 10% under these conditions. The cytochemical reaction in the eosinophil was confined to the granules in which the reaction product appeared in the matrix, not in the crystalline core (or in the core region after the latter's extraction). Granules wherein the matrix was disrupted and the crystalline core degraded or extracted showed the most intense deposition of reaction product, whereas well preserved granules with morphologically intact matrix and crystals were unreactive. Yet, not all disrupted granules gave a positive reaction, indicating that disruption was a necessary but not sufficient condition for reactivity. In many eosinophil leukocytes, most if not all granules were acid phosphatase-positive, provided they had become disrupted to a certain degree. Factors possibly involved in converting the granules from an unreactive to a reactive state are discussed.

Intracellular transport of secretory proteins in the pancreatic exocrine cell. I. Role of the peripheral elements of the Golgi complex.

It has been established by electron microscopic radioautography of guinea pig pancreatic exocrine cells (Caro and Palade, 1964) that secretory proteins are transported from the elements of the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to condensing vacuoles of the Golgi complex possibly via small vesicles located in the periphery of the complex. To define more clearly the role of these vesicles in the intracellular transport of secretory proteins, we have investigated the secretory cycle of the guinea pig pancreas by cell fractionation procedures applied to pancreatic slices incubated in vitro. Such slices remain viable for 3 hr and incur minimal structural damage in this time. Their secretory proteins can be labeled with radioactive amino acids in short, well defined pulses which, followed by cell fractionation, makes possible a kinetic analysis of transport. To determine the kinetics of transport, we pulse-labeled sets of slices for 3 min with leucine-(14)C and incubated them for further +7, +17, and +57 min in chase medium. At each time, smooth microsomes ( = peripheral elements of the Golgi complex) and rough microsomes ( = elements of the rough ER) were isolated from the slices by density gradient centrifugation of the total microsomal fraction. Labeled proteins appeared initially (end of pulse) in the rough microsomes and were subsequently transferred during incubation in chase medium to the smooth microsomes, reaching a maximal concentration in this fraction after +7 min chase incubation. Later, labeled proteins left the smooth microsomes to appear in the zymogen granule fraction. These data provide direct evidence that secretory proteins are transported from the cisternae of the rough ER to condensing vacuoles via the small vesicles of the Golgi complex.

Intracellular transport of secretory proteins in the pancreatic exocrine cell. II. Transport to condensing vacuoles and zymogen granules.

In the previous paper we described an in vitro system of guinea pig pancreatic slices whose secretory proteins can be pulse-labeled with radioactive amino acids. From kinetic experiments performed on smooth and rough microsomes isolated by gradient centrifugation from such slices, we obtained direct evidence that secretory proteins are transported from the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum to condensing vacuoles of the Golgi complex via small vesicles located in the periphery of the complex. Since condensing vacuoles ultimately become zymogen granules, it was of interest to study this phase of the secretory cycle in pulse-labeled slices. To this intent, a zymogen granule fraction was isolated by differential centrifugation from slices at the end of a 3-min pulse with leucine-(14)C and after varying times of incubation in chase medium. At the end of the pulse, few radioactive proteins were found in this fraction; after +17 min in chaser, its proteins were half maximally labeled; they became maximally labeled between +37 and +57 min. Parallel electron microscopic radioautography of intact cells in slices pulse labeled with leucine-(3)H showed, however, that zymogen granules become labeled, at the earliest, +57 min post-pulse. We assumed that the discrepancy between the two sets of results was due to the presence of rapidly labeled condensing vacuoles in the zymogen granule fraction. To test this assumption, electron microscopic radioautography was performed on sections of zymogen granule pellets isolated from slices pulse labeled with leucine-(3)H and subsequently incubated in chaser. The results showed that the early labeling of the zymogen granule fractions was, indeed, due to the presence of highly labeled condensing vacuoles among the components of these fractions.

The localization of Mg-Na-K-activated adenosine triphosphatase on red cell ghost membranes.

The lead salt method introduced by Wachstein and Meisel (12) for the cytochemical demonstration of ATPase activity was modified and used to determine sites of activity on red cell ghost membranes. Preliminary studies showed that aldehyde fixation and standard concentrations of the capture reagent Pb(NO(3))(2) resulted in marked inhibition of the ATPase activity of these membranes. By lowering the concentration of Pb(2+) and incubating unfixed red cell ghosts, over 50% of the total ATPase activity, which included an ouabain-sensitive, Na-K-activated component, could be demonstrated by quantitative biochemical assay. Cytochemical tests, carried out under the same conditions, gave a reaction product localized exclusively along the inner surfaces of the ghost membranes for both Mg-ATPase and Na-K-ATPase. These findings indicate that the ATPase activity of red cell ghosts results in the release of P(i) on the inside of the ghost membrane at sites scattered over its inner aspect. There were no deposits of reaction product on the outer surface of the ghost membrane, hence no indication that upon ATP hydrolysis P(i) is released outside the ghosts. Nor was there any clear difference in the localization of reaction product of Mg-ATPase as opposed to that of Na-K-ATPase.

Biogenesis of endoplasmic reticulum membranes. I. Structural and chemical differentiation in developing rat hepatocyte.

The development of the endoplasmic reticulum of rat hepatocytes was studied during a period of rapid cell differentiation, i.e., from 3 days before to 8 days after birth. Before birth, the ER increases in volume, remaining predominantly rough surfaced; after birth, the increase continues but affects mainly the smooth-surfaced part of the system. These changes are reflected in variations of the RNA/protein and PLP/protein ratios of microsomal fractions: the first decreases, while the second increases, with age. The analysis of microsomal membranes and of microsomal lipids indicates that the PLP/protein ratio, the distribution of phospholipids, and the rate of P(32) incorporation into these phospholipids show little variation over the period examined and are comparable to values found in adult liver. Fatty acid composition of total phosphatides undergoes, however, drastic changes after birth. During the period of rapid ER development in vivo incorporation of leucine-C(14) and glycerol-C(14) into the proteins and lipids of microsomal membranes is higher in the rough-than in the smooth-surfaced microsomes, for the first hours after the injection of the label; later on ( approximately 10 hr) the situation is reversed. These results strongly suggest that new membrane is synthesized in the rough ER and subsequently transferred to the smooth ER.

Adenosine triphosphatase localization in amphibian epidermis.

The localization of ATPase(1) activity has been studied by light and electron microscopy in the epidermis of Rana pipiens, Rana catesbiana, and Bufo marinus. The reaction was carried out on skin (glutaraldehyde-fixed or fresh) sectioned with or without freezing. Best results were obtained with nonfrozen sections of fixed tissue. The incubation mixture was either a Wachstein-Meisel medium, or a modification which approximates assay systems used in biochemical studies of transport ATPases. The reaction product was found localized in contact with the outer leaflet of all cell membranes facing the labyrinth of intercellular spaces of the epidermis. It was absent from: (a) membrane areas involved in cell junctions (desmosomes, zonulae and maculae occludentes); (b) cell membranes facing the external medium (i.e., those on the distal aspect of the ultimate cell layer in s. corneum); (c) cell membranes facing the dermis (those on the proximal aspect of cells in s. germinativum). In the presence of (Na(+) + K(+)) the localization did not change, but the reaction was not appreciably activated. A similar though less intense reaction was obtained with ITP, but not with ADP, AMP, and GP as substrates. The results are discussed in relation to available data on transport ATPases in general, and on the morphology and physiology of amphibian skin in particular. Assuming that the ATPase studied is related to transport ATPase, the findings suggest a series of modifications to the frog skin model proposed by Koefoed-Johnsen and Ussing. The salient feature of this modified model is the localization of the Na(+) pump along all cell membranes facing the intercellular spaces of the epidermis.