The application of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to electron microscopy.

The cytoplasm of cells from a variety of tissues has been viewed in sections (0.25-1 micrometers) devoid of any embedding resin. Glutaraldehyde- and osmium tetroxide-fixed tissues were infiltrated and embedded in a water-miscible wax, polyethylene glycol (PEG), and subsequently sectioned on dry glass or diamond knives. The PEG matrix was removed and the sections were placed on Formvarcarbon-polylysine-coated grids, dehydrated, dried by the critical-point method, and observed in either the high- or low-voltage electron microscope. Stereoscopic views of cells devoid of embedding resin present an image of cell utrastructure unobscured by electron-scattering resins similar to the image of whole, unembedded critical-point-dried or freeze-dried cultured cells observed by transmission electron microscopy. All organelles, including the cytoskeletal structures, are identified and appear not to have been damaged during processing, although membrane components appear somewhat less distinct. The absence of an embedding matrix eliminates the need for additional staining to increase contrast, unlike the situation with specimens embedded in standard electron-scattering resins. The PEG technique thus appears to be a valuable adjunct to conventional methods for ultrastructural analysis.

Microtrabecular lattice of the cytoplasmic ground substance. Artifact or reality.

The cytoplasmic ground substance of cultured cells prepared for high voltage transmission electron microscopy (glutaraldehyde/osmium fixed, alcohol or acetone dehydrated, critical-point dried) consists of slender (3-6 nm Diam) strands--the microtrabeculae (55)--that form an irregular three-dimensional lattice (the microtrabecular lattice). The microtrabeculae interconnect the membranous and nonmembranous organelles and are confluent with the cortices of the cytoplast. The lattice is found in all portions of the cytoplast of all cultured cells examined. The possibility that the lattice structure is an artifact of specimen preparation has been tested by (a) subjecting whole cultured cells (WI-38, NRK, chick embryo fibroblasts) to various chemical (aldehydes, osmium tetroxide) and nonchemical (freezing) fixation schedules, (b) examination of model systems (erythrocytes, protein solutions), (c) substantiating the relaibility of critical-point drying, and (d) comparing images of whole cells with conventionally prepared (plastic-embedded) cells. The lattice structure is preserved by chemical and nonchemical fixation, though alterations in ultrastructure can occur especially after prolonged exposure to osmium tetroxide. The critical-point method for drying specimens appears to be reliable as is the freeze-drying method. The discrepancies between images of plastic-embedded and sectioned cells, and images of whole, critical-point dried cells appear to be related, in part, to the electron-scattering properties of the embedding resin. The described observations indicate that the microtrabecular lattice seen in electron micrographs closely represents the nonrandom structure of the cytoplasmic ground substance of living cultured cells.

MAP 4: a microtubule-associated protein specific for a subset of tissue microtubules.

The cytological distribution of microtubule-associated protein 4 (MAP 4) (L. M. Parysek, C. F. Asnes, J. B. Olmsted, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 99:1309-1315) in mouse tissues has been examined. Adjacent 0.5-0.9-micron sections of polyethylene glycol-embedded tissues were incubated with affinity-purified MAP 4 or tubulin antibodies, and the immunofluorescent images were compared. Tubulin antibody labeling showed distinct microtubules in all tissues examined. MAP 4 antibody also labeled microtubule-like patterns, but the extent of MAP 4 reactivity was cell type-specific within each tissue. MAP 4 antibody labeled microtubules in vascular elements of all tissues and in other cells considered to have supportive functions, including Sertoli cells in the testis and glial elements in the nervous system. Microtubule patterns were also observed in cardiac, smooth, and skeletal (eye) muscle, podocytes in kidney, Kuppfer cells in liver, and spermatid manchettes. The only MAP 4-positive cells in which the pattern was not microtubule-like were the principal cells of the collecting ducts in kidney cortex, in which diffuse fluorescence was seen. MAP 4 antibody did not react with microtubule-rich neuronal elements of the central and peripheral nervous system, skeletal muscle from anterior thigh, liver parenchymal cells, columnar epithelial cells of the small intestine, and absorptive cells of the tubular component of the nephron. These observations indicate that MAP 4 may be associated with only certain kinds of cell functions as demonstrated by the preferential distribution with microtubules of defined cell types.

Distribution of actin in migrating leukocytes in vivo.

Blood cells proliferate extravascularly in the bone marrow and enter the circulation by migrating through endothelial cells of venous blood sinuses. This migration, or diapedesis, was suspected to involve actin. To test for the presence and distribution of actin, sections of rat bone marrow were examined by indirect immunocyto-chemistry. Affinity purified rabbit antichicken gizzard actin antibody, and goat-antirabbit IgG-FITC, or goat antirabbit IgG colloidal gold probes were used. The migrating cell contacts the endothelial cell and forms a podosome (a cortical bleb). Immunocytochemistry shows this region to contain actin. As diapedesis proceeds the podosome deforms, then breaches the endothelial cell. At this time the anterior portion of the leukocyte shows heavy labeling for actin. When the migratory cell traverses approximately half of its length through the endothelial cell, actin appears prominent in the caudal region of the cell. The immunocytochemical data suggest that actin is nonrandomly distributed in leukocytes undergoing diapedesis and may be a component of the force-generating mechanism responsible for this transcellular migratory event.

Fine structure of gels prepared from an actin-binding protein and actin: comparison to cytoplasmic extracts and cortical cytoplasm in amoeboid cells of cortical cytoplasm in amoeboid cells of Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have identified the three-dimensional ultrastructure of actin gels that are formed in well-characterized cell extracts and mixtures of purified actin and the 120K actin-binding protein and compared these to the ultrastructure of the cytoplasmic matrix in regions of nonextracted Dictyostelium amoebae that are rich in actin and 120K. This ultrastructural characterization was achieved by using critical-point-dried whole-mount preparations. All three preparations--gelled extracts, purified proteins, and cortical cytoplasm--are composed of filament networks. The basic morphological feature of these networks is the presence of contacts between convergent filaments resulting in "T" or "X" shaped contacts. The finding that actin-containing gels are composed of filament networks, where the primary interaction occurs between convergent filaments, reconciles the known requirement of F actin for gelation with the amorphous appearance of these gels in thin sections. Increasing the molar ratio of 120K dimer to actin monomer increases the number of contacts between filaments per unit volume and decreases the lengths of filaments between contacts. This indicates that 120K stabilizes interactions between filaments and is consistent with biochemical evidence that 120K crosslinks actin filaments. The cortical network in situ resembles more closely networks formed in 120K-rich extracts than networks assembled in mixtures of purified 120K and actin. The heterogeneity of filament diameters and variation of network density are properties shared by extracts and the cytomatrix in situ while networks found in purified 120K-actin gels have filament diameters and densities that are more uniform. These differences are certainly due to the more complex composition of cell extracts and cortical cytoplasm as compared to that of purified 120K-actin gels.

Observation on the morphological heterogeneity of WI-38 cells.

WI-38 cells of intermediate and late-passage cultures were examined by light microscopy, scanning, conventional transmission and high voltage electron microscopy for evidence of heterogeneity among the cells within a single culture. Two morphologically distinct cell sizes and shapes were noted in all passages, (1) a typical fibroblastic type, and (2) a much larger, non-fusiform type. The larger cells generally had a nucleus that was positioned to one side of the bulk of the cytoplasm. The smaller was consistently fusiform with a centrally placed nucleus. The surfaces of intermediate-passage cells were uniform in showing small microvilli and corticall pits but were otherwise smooth and with out distinctive featues. The late-passage cells, on the other band, were consistent in showing numerous blebs and marginal ruffing. The internal structure of these cells in all passages studied was complicated by many age-related changes. The observations indicate that there is in WI-38 cells a high degree of intraculture heterogeneity. An awareness of this is important in studies which characterize the biochemical properties of this cell strain.

Stereo high-voltage electron microscopy of whole cells of the human diploid line, WI-38.

The human diploid cell line, WI-38, has proven to be an especially good object for high-voltage electron microscopy using whole cells. Cells of intermediate passages were grown on plastic-coated, carbon-shadowed gold grids, fixed with glutaraldehyde, post-fixed with osmium tetroxide, stained with uranyl salts and critical-point dried. The absence of an embedding matrix produces images of increased contrast and resolution. The approach combined with stereo-microscopy has extended our knowledge of cellular ultrastructure. Stereo-images of whole cells reveal nuclei, mitochondria, microtubules, microfilaments, the endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes in their expected forms. At high magnifications a continuity of microtubules, microfilaments and membranous elements with thin (3-6 nm) strands of the ground substance has been observed. These strands form a three-dimensional lattice or mesh that pervades all parts of the cytoplasm. The entire structure is referred to as a microtrabecular lattice or mesh, the strands being the trabeculae. The inclusion of microtubules, microfilaments, ribosomes and vesicles of the endoplasmic reticulum within the material of the lattice makes them all part of a totally organized cytoplast.

The cytoskeletal lattice of the neurohypophysial cells.

The cytoskeleton of rat neurohypophysial cells as seen in resinless sections is an irregular three-dimensional lattice of short strands of cytoplasmic matrix (the microtrabeculae) that interconnect parallel arrays of neurotubules, neurofilaments, abundant neurosecretory granules, and other membrane-bound organelles including the plasma membrane. This morphological finding suggests that the cytoplasmic ground substance constitutes a cytoskeletal continuum that may be the ultrastructural expression of a motile apparatus responsible for neurosecretory granule movement and hormone release in the neurohypophysis.

Ultrastructural localization of tubulin and actin in polyethylene glycol-embedded rat seminiferous epithelium by immunogold staining.

The polyethylene glycol (PEG) method for immunofluorescence localization of cytoskeletal antigens has been extended to the ultrastructural level using glutaraldehyde-fixed tissues and immunogold staining. Semithin sections of fixed tissue embedded in polyethylene glycol are divested of the PEG, exposed to purified antibodies (e.g., antiactin, antitubulin) and anti-IgG-colloidal gold. The sections may be processed by dehydration and critical-point drying, or reembedment in hydrophilic substances. Tubulin is demonstrated in the mitotic spindles of dividing spermatogonia, manchettes, axonemes and centrioles of developing spermatids, and in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm; actin localization is demonstrated in the myoid cells of the tunica propria, and smooth muscle cells of arterioles in the interstitial tissue. The results demonstrate the applicability and versatility of PEG embedding for immunocytochemistry.

Fine structure of synapses of the central nervous system in resinless sections.

The cytoskeleton has been implicated in neuronal function, particularly in axonal transport, excitability at axonal membranes, and movement of synaptic vesicles at preganglionic endings. The present study demonstrates the presence of a pre- and postsynaptic cytoskeleton in resinless sections of CNS tissue by use of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) technique of Wolosewick (1980) viewed by conventional transmission EM, scanning transmission EM, and surface scanning EM. The PEG technique permits visualization of the cytoskeletal network unobscured by the electron scattering properties of epoxy embedment. In the presynaptic process, synaptic vesicles appear to be suspended in a filamentous network that is contiguous with the synaptic vesicle membrane and with the presynaptic plasma membrane and its dense material. In the postsynaptic process, the postsynaptic density (PSD) is seen in intimate contact with the postsynaptic membrane. En face images of the PSD in some synapses appear as a torus. Emanating from the filamentous web of the PSD are filaments which extend to the adjacent plasma membrane. We conclude that membranous synaptic elements are contiguous with a three-dimensional lattice network that is similar to that described in whole unembedded cells (Wolosewick and Porter, 1976). Moreover, the synaptic densities represent a specialized elaboration of the cytoskeleton.