Compact x-ray microscope for the water window based on a high brightness laser plasma source.

We present a laser plasma based x-ray microscope for the water window employing a high-average power laser system for plasma generation. At 90 W laser power a brightness of 7.4 x 10(11) photons/(s x sr x µm(2)) was measured for the nitrogen Lyα line emission at 2.478 nm. Using a multilayer condenser mirror with 0.3 % reflectivity 10(6) photons/(µm(2) x s) were obtained in the object plane. Microscopy performed at a laser power of 60 W resolves 40 nm lines with an exposure time of 60 s. The exposure time can be further reduced to 20 s by the use of new multilayer condenser optics and operating the laser at its full power of 130 W.

High average brightness water window source for short-exposure cryomicroscopy.

Laboratory water window cryomicroscopy has recently demonstrated similar image quality as synchrotron-based microscopy but still with much longer exposure times, prohibiting the spread to a wider scientific community. Here we demonstrate high-resolution laboratory water window imaging of cryofrozen cells with 10 s range exposure times. The major improvement is the operation of a λ=2.48 nm, 2 kHz liquid nitrogen jet laser plasma source with high spatial and temporal stability at high average brightness >1.5×10(12) ph/(s×sr×µm(2)×line), i.e., close to that of early synchrotrons. Thus, this source enables not only biological x-ray microscopy in the home laboratory but potentially other applications previously only accessible at synchrotron facilities.

Transport routes through the nuclear pore complex.

The nuclear pore complex can be considered to be the stationary phase of bidirectional traffic between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. The mobile phase consists of karyopherins, transport substrates, and the small GTPase Ran and its modulators. Recently, the family of karyopherins was expanded with the recognition of numerous open reading frames with limited homology to karyopherin beta 1. In several cases, the specific substrates transported by the new karyopherins have been identified, allowing the characterization of new pathways into and out of the nucleus. However, the mechanisms of transport, particularly the role of Ran, remain poorly understood.

Lamin B autoantibodies in sera of certain patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Sera from four patients with systemic lupus erythematosus containing antibodies that yield nuclear rim staining of HEp-2 cells by indirect immunofluorescence were identified and characterized. Each serum contained autoantibodies reacting strongly with lamin B on western blots. One of the four sera displayed weaker reactivity with lamins A and C, while the other three displayed only minimal reactivity with lamins A and C. Titers of antilamin antibodies ranged from 1:1,250 to 1:36,250. Two of the sera also reacted at a dilution of 1:20 with cytoplasmic filaments of PTK-2 cells, suggesting that a small fraction of the autoantibodies in these sera may bind to alpha-helical domains of the lamins that are homologous to those of intermediate filaments. The majority of the antilamin antibodies in these patients' sera are specific for portions of the lamin B molecule that are not homologous to lamins A and C, however. The findings suggest that autoantibodies to the nuclear lamina may, in some instances, be responsible for a rim pattern in the fluorescent antinuclear antibody assay. In addition, autoantibodies to the nuclear lamina in sera of certain patients with systemic lupus erythematosus may be useful for defining the molecular structure and biological functions of lamin B, as well as for studying mechanisms of autoimmunity.

Identification and characterization of autoantibodies against the nuclear envelope lamin B receptor from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

We have identified autoantibodies from two patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) that recognize the nuclear envelope of mammalian cells on indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. These antibodies bind to a 58-kD integral membrane protein (p58) of the turkey erythrocyte nuclear envelope, which has been previously identified as a membrane receptor for lamin B (Worman, H. J., J. Yuan, G. Blobel, and S. D. Georgatos. 1988. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85:8531). The antibodies also bind to a 61-kD integral membrane protein (p61) of the rat liver nuclear envelope. Affinity-purified antibodies eluted from turkey p58 bind to rat p61, showing that the two proteins share an epitope(s) and that p61 is likely the rat liver lamin B receptor. In human nuclear envelopes, the antigen recognized has an apparent molecular mass close to that of avian protein. These findings, along with the previous discovery of autoantibodies against an integral membrane glycoprotein (gp210) of the nuclear pore membrane in patients with PBC, suggest that antibodies against integral membrane proteins of the nuclear envelope are characteristic of a subset of patients with PBC.

Biogenesis of membrane-bound and secreted immunoglobulins. II. Two forms of the human alpha chain translated in vitro and processed in vivo as distinct polypeptide chains.

Structural differences between alpha m (ther heavy chain of membrane IgA) and alpha s (the heavy chain of secretory IgA) were investigated. Messenger RNA from the human B lymphoblastoid line 32a.1, expressing both membrane and secretory IgA, was translated in a wheat germ cell-free system, resulting in the synthesis of two primary translation products for the alpha chain, that differed in molecular weight. In vivo pulse and pulse-chase experiments demonstrated that two early biosynthetic forms of the alpha chain were subsequently modified to yield three intracellular forms. As shown by endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (endo H) treatment, these forms represent two alpha polypeptide chains, with varying compositions of N-linked oligosaccharides. Of the two forms of the alpha chain remaining after endo H treatment, only the form with the lowest molecular weight was associated with cells after long chase periods. The possible significance of this difference from the results with mu and delta chains is discussed. These results indicate that alpha m is distinguished from an alpha s by a difference in both primary structure and intracellular processing. The functional consequences of this distinction, previously shown for the heavy chain of membrane IgM (micrometer) and heavy chain of secretory IgM (microseconds), may reflect a principle common to the secretory and membrane forms of all immunoglobulin heavy chain classes.

Protein antigens of the RNA-protein complexes detected by anti-SM and anti-RNP antibodies found in serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and related disorders.

Evidence has been obtained previously indicating that the antigens reacting with the anti-Sm and anti-RNP sera are present as a large complex, and similar protein bands are obtained with both types of sera. Inthe present study, it proved possible to break up this complex using SDS treatment before immunoprecipitation. After such treatment, different protein bands were immunoprecipitated by the two antisera; Sm determinants resided, at least partially, in a 19-kd protein. Sequential immunoprecipitation with and without prior SDS treatment provided further evidence for these specificities and suggested that two classes of particles exist in different tissues, one containing proteins immunoreactive with the Sn and RNP antisera and the other containing proteins immunoreactive only with the Sm antisera. The latter particle contained all the bands seen with the first type except for the absence of the 19-kd band. Nitrocellulose blot analyses confirmed the assignment of the 25- and 16-kd polypeptides to Sm antigenic determinants; analyses for RNP proved les informative by this technique. Some differences in the banding patterns were obtained using cells from different species: the 25-kd Sm band was usually double in human cells and single in rat and rabbit tissue. Methods of extraction also caused some differences which was especially true for the rabbit thymus extract widely used for Sm and RNP studies. Additional immunoreactive bands at 68 and 70 kd also were detected when the Sm and RNP antisera were used in nitrocellulose blot analyses. Furthermore, evidence was obtained for a number of other antibodies in lupus sera which have not as yet been detected by serological methods.

Biogenesis of membrane-bound and secreted immunoglobulins. I. Two distinct translation products of human mu-chain, with identical N-termini and different C-termini.

Structural differences between the heavy chain of membrane-bound IgM (mu m) and the heavy chain of secreted IgM (mu s) were investigated. The primary translation products of the mu-chain, free of posttranslational modifications, were synthesized in a wheat-germ cell-free system, programmed with messenger RNA derived from human lymphoblastoid cell lines positive for both membrane-bound and secreted IgM. Encoded in this sytem were two mu-chains, which shared N-terminal signal peptides and which differed both in molecular weight and in C-terminal amino acid sequence. In vivo pulse labeling of cells confirmed that, as intermediates in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, these two forms expressed the same idiotype and maintained their difference in molecular weight and in C-terminal sequence. By correlation with pulse-chase kinetics and with immunofluorescence, one form of mu-chain represents mu m, and the other, mu s. Because the molecular weight difference between the two is manifest at the level of their primary translation products, these studies demonstrate that mu m is distinguished from mu s by a difference in primary structure, at least in part at the C-terminus.

Nascent secretory chain binding and translocation are distinct processes: differentiation by chemical alkylation.

We have investigated the effects of chemical alkylation of microsomal membranes on nascent chain binding and translocation. Assays were conducted using either full-length or truncated preprolactin transcripts in combination with a reconstituted membrane system consisting of proteolyzed rough microsomes and the cytoplasmic domain of the signal recognition particle receptor. Treatment of rough microsomes with N-ethylmaleimide was observed to inhibit preprolactin processing at a site other than the signal recognition particle or the signal recognition particle receptor. As formation of a translocation competent junction between the ribosome/nascent chain complex and the membrane has recently been demonstrated to require GTP (Connolly, T., and R. Gilmore. J. Cell Biol. 1986. 103:2253-2261), the effects of membrane alkylation on this parameter were assessed. N-ethylmaleimide treatment did not inhibit nascent chain targeting or GTP-dependent signal sequence insertion. Translocation of the targeted and inserted nascent chain was, however, blocked. These data indicate (a) that the process of nascent chain translocation is distinct from targeting and signal sequence insertion, and (b) translocation of the peptide chain across the membrane is mediated by an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive membrane protein component(s). To further substantiate the observation that nascent chain targeting and signal sequence insertion can be distinguished from translocation, the temperature dependencies of the two phenomena were compared. Signal sequence insertion occurred at low temperatures (4 degrees C) and was maximal between 10 and 15 degrees C. Translocation was only observed at higher temperatures and was maximal between 25 and 30 degrees C.

Identification and characterization of a yeast nucleolar protein that is similar to a rat liver nucleolar protein.

We have produced monoclonal antibodies against purified nuclei from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and have characterized three different antibodies that recognize a protein with an apparent molecular weight of 38,000, termed p38. Subcellular fractionation shows that virtually all of p38 occurs in the nuclear fraction. High concentrations of salt (1 M) or urea (6 M) effectively solubilize p38 from a nuclear envelope fraction prepared by digestion of nuclei with DNase. Indirect immunofluorescence demonstrates a crescent shaped distribution of p38 at the inner periphery of the nucleus, with p38 extending between dividing pairs of cells during (closed) mitosis. Postembedding immunogold electron microscopy shows decoration of the densely stained "crescent" region of the yeast nucleus, confirming the localization of p38 to the nucleolus. One of the monoclonals, D77, cross reacts on immunoblots with a single protein of molecular weight 37,000 from purified rat liver nuclei. Indirect immunofluorescence localizes this protein to the nucleolus, and shows that it is dispersed throughout the cell during mitosis. The yeast and rat liver nucleolar proteins behave similarly when electrophoresed in two dimensions, and appear to have basic pI values. Analysis of immunological cross-reactivity using D77, and antibodies specific for nucleolar proteins from other sources, suggests that the rat liver protein is fibrillarin, and demonstrates that p38 shares epitopes with fibrillarin, as well as with other vertebrate nucleolar proteins.

Yeast nuclear envelope proteins cross react with an antibody against mammalian pore complex proteins.

We have used a monoclonal antibody raised against rat liver nuclear proteins to study two cross-reactive proteins in the yeast nucleus. In rat liver, this monoclonal antibody, mAb 414, binds to nuclear pore complex proteins, including one of molecular weight 62,000 (Davis, L. I., and G. Blobel. 1987. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 84:7552-7556). In yeast, mAb 414 cross reacts by immunoblotting with two proteins that have apparent molecular weights of 110,000 and 95,000, and are termed p110 and p95, respectively. Examination of subcellular fractions by immunoblotting shows that both p110 and p95 are located exclusively in the nuclear fraction. The mAb 414 immunoprecipitates several proteins from a crude yeast cell extract, including p110, p95, and a approximately 55-kD protein. Immunoprecipitation from subcellular fractions yields only p110 and p95 from purified nuclei, whereas the approximately 55-kD protein is immunoprecipitated from the soluble fraction. Digestion of purified nuclei with DNase to produce nuclear envelopes releases some of p110, but the majority of p110 is solubilized only after treatment of envelopes with 1 M NaCl. Immunofluorescence localization using yeast cells and isolated nuclei shows a punctate and patchy staining pattern of the nucleus. Confocal laser scanning immunofluorescence microscopy resolves the punctate and patchy staining pattern better and shows regions of fluorescence at the nuclear envelope. Postembedding immunogold electron microscopy using purified nuclei and mAb 414 shows colloidal gold decoration of the yeast nuclear envelope, but resolves pore complexes too poorly to achieve further ultrastructural localization. Immunogold labeling of nuclei followed by embedding suggests decoration of pore complexes. Thus, p110 and/or p95 are localized to the nuclear envelope in yeast, and may be components of the nuclear pore complex.

A nuclear localization signal binding protein in the nucleolus.

We used functional wild-type and mutant synthetic nuclear localization signal peptides of SV-40 T antigen cross-linked to human serum albumin (peptide conjugates) to assay their binding to proteins of rat liver nuclei on Western blots. Proteins of 140 and 55 kD (p140 and p55) were exclusively recognized by wild-type peptide conjugates. Free wild-type peptides competed for the wild-type peptide conjugate binding to p140 and p55 whereas free mutant peptides, which differed by a single amino acid from the wild type, competed less efficiently. The two proteins were extractable from nuclei by either low or high ionic strength buffers. We purified p140 and raised polyclonal antibodies in chicken against the protein excised from polyacrylamide gels. The anti-p140 antibodies were monospecific as judged by their reactivity with a single nuclear protein band of 140 kD on Western blots of subcellular fractions of whole cells. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy on fixed and permeabilized Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells with anti-p140 antibodies exhibited a distinct punctate nucleolar staining. Rhodamine-labeled wild-type peptide conjugates also bound to nucleoli in a similar pattern on fixed and permeabilized BRL cells. Based on biochemical characterization, p140 is a novel nucleolar protein. It is possible that p140 shuttles between the nucleolus and the cytoplasm and functions as a nuclear import carrier.

In vitro biosynthesis, core glycosylation, and membrane integration of opsin.

A membrane-integrated , core-glycosylated form of bovine opsin was synthesized in vitro when bovine retina mRNA was translated in a wheat germ cell-free system supplemented with dog pancreas microsomal vesicles; glycosylation and integration of opsin into membranes were coupled to translation. Proteolysis with themolysin was used to probe the orientation of opsin within the dog pancreas microsomal membrane, and to compare it with that of opsin in rod cell disk membranes isolated from bovine retina. Intact microsomal or disk vesicles were required for production of discrete, membrane-associated thermolysin fragments of opsin; no discrete opsin fragments were detected when membranes were incubated with thermolysin in the presence of the nonionic detergent, Triton X-100. The major opsin fragments produced by themosylin treatment of intact microsomal vesicles resembled those from disk vesicles in their size, oligosaccharide content, and order of appearance. In each case, the first cleavage of opsin took place at the COOH-terminus, generating a glycosylated fragment, O', which was only slightly smaller than intact opsin. Both the microsomal and disk membrane forms of O' were next cleaved internally; glycosylated fragments of similar sizes in both cases were detected which were derived from the NH(2)-terminal portion of O'. Several smaller NH(2)-terminal fragments of opsin were detected only in thermolysin-treated microsomal membranes, and not in disk membranes. The data suggest that the topology of opsin integrated into dog pancreas microsomal vesicles is similar to that in rod cell disk vesicles, although not identical. In each case, the glycosylated NH(2)-terminal region of opsin is located within the lumen of the vesicle, while discrete COOH-terminal and internal segments of opsin apparently emerge at the outer, cytoplasmic face of the membrane. Thus, opsin in the heterologous microsomal membrane, like its counterpart in the native disk membrane, may cross the bilayer at least three times. The internal domain of the polypeptide that emerges at the outer membrane surface is apparently more highly exposed in the case of opsin in microsomal membranes, evidenced by the additional internal thermolysin cleavage sites detected.

A temperature-sensitive NUP116 null mutant forms a nuclear envelope seal over the yeast nuclear pore complex thereby blocking nucleocytoplasmic traffic.

NUP116 encodes a 116-kD yeast nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein that is not essential but its deletion (nup116 delta) slows cell growth at 23 degrees C and is lethal at 37 degrees C (Wente, S. R., M. P. Rout, and G. Blobel. 1992. J. Cell Biol. 119:705-723). Electron microscopic analysis of nup116 delta cells shifted to growth at 37 degrees C revealed striking perturbations of the nuclear envelope: a double membrane seal that was continuous with the inner and outer nuclear membranes had formed over the cytoplasmic face of the NPCs. Electron-dense material was observed accumulating between the cytoplasmic face of these NPCs and the membrane seal, resulting in "herniations" of the nuclear envelope around individual NPCs. In situ hybridization with poly(dT) probes showed the accumulation of polyadenylated RNA in the nuclei of arrested nup116 delta cells, sometimes in the form of punctate patches at the nuclear periphery. This is consistent with the electron microscopically observed accumulation of electron-dense material within the nuclear envelope herniations. We propose that nup116 delta NPCs remain competent for export, but that the formation of the membrane seals over the NPCs blocks nucleocytoplasmic traffic.

Translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum. II. Signal recognition protein (SRP) mediates the selective binding to microsomal membranes of in-vitro-assembled polysomes synthesizing secretory protein.

Translocation-competent microsomal membrane vesicles of dog pancreas were shown to selectively bind nascent, in vitro assembled polysomes synthesizing secretory protein (bovine prolactin) but not those synthesizing cytoplasmic protein (alpha and beta chain of rabbit globin). This selective polysome binding capacity was abolished when the microsomal vesicles were salt-extracted but was restored by an 11S protein (SRP, Signal Recognition Protein) previously purified from the salt-extract of microsomal vesicles (Walter and Blobel, 1980. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 77:7112-7116). SRP-dependent polysome recognition and binding to the microsomal membrane was shown to be a prerequisite for chain translocation. Modification of SRP by N-ethyl maleimide abolished its ability to mediate nascent polysome binding to the microsomal vesicles. Likewise, polysome binding to the microsomal membrane was largely abolished when beta-hydroxy leucine, a Leu analogue, was incorporated into nascent secretory polypeptides. The data in this and the preceding paper provide conclusive experimental evidence that chain translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane is a receptor-mediated event and thus rule out proposals that chain translocation occurs spontaneously and without the mediation by proteins. Moreover, our data here demonstrate conclusively that the initial events that lead to translocation and provide for its specificity are protein-protein (signal sequence plus ribosome with SRP) and not protein-lipid (signal sequence with lipid bilayer) interactions.

Translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum III. Signal recognition protein (SRP) causes signal sequence-dependent and site-specific arrest of chain elongation that is released by microsomal membranes.

The previously observed (Walter, et al. 1981 J. Cell Biol. 91:545-550) inhibitory effect of SRP selectively on the cell-free translation of mRNA for secretory protein (preprolactin) was shown here to be caused by a signal sequence-induced and site-specific arrest in polypeptide chain elongation. The Mr of the SRP-arrested nascent preprolactin chain was estimated to be 8,000 corresponding to approximately 70 amino acid residues. Because the signal sequence of preprolactin comprises 30 residues and because approximately 40 residues of the nascent chain are buried (protected from protease) in the large ribosomal subunit, we conclude that it is the interaction of SRP with the amino-terminal signal peptide of the nascent chain (emerged from the large ribosomal subunit) that modulates translation and thereby causes an arrest in chain elongation. This arrest is released upon SRP-mediated binding of the elongation-arrested ribosomes to the microsomal membrane, resulting in chain completion and translocation into the microsomal vesicle.

Subcellular distribution of signal recognition particle and 7SL-RNA determined with polypeptide-specific antibodies and complementary DNA probe.

Signal recognition particle (SRP) is a ribonucleoprotein consisting of six distinct polypeptides and one molecule of small cytoplasmic 7SL-RNA. The particle was previously shown to function in protein translocation across and protein integration into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Polypeptide specific antibodies were raised in rabbits against the 72,000-, 68,000-, and 54,000-mol-wt polypeptide of SRP. All three antibodies are shown to neutralize SRP activity in vitro. A solid phase radioimmune assay is described and used to follow SRP in various cell fractions. The partitioning of SRP is shown to be dependent on the ionic conditions of the fractionation. Under conditions approximating physiological ionic strength, SRP is found to be about equally distributed between a membrane associated (38%) and a free (15%) or ribosome associated (47%) state. Furthermore, it is shown that greater than 75% of the total cellular 7SL-RNA is associated with SRP polypeptide in these fractions. Thus it is likely that the major--if not the only--cellular function of 7SL-RNA is as a part of SRP.

NUP145 encodes a novel yeast glycine-leucine-phenylalanine-glycine (GLFG) nucleoporin required for nuclear envelope structure.

We have isolated and characterized the gene encoding a fourth yeast glycine-leucine-phenylalanine-glycine (GLFG) repeat nucleoporin with a calculated molecular mass of 145.3 kD, and therefore termed NUP145. The amino-terminal half of Nup145p is similar to two previously identified GLFG nucleoporins, Nup116p and Nup100p (Wente, S. R., M. P. Rout, and G. Blobel. 1992. J. Cell Biol. 119:705-723). A deletion/disruption in the amino-terminal half of NUP145 (nup145 delta N) had only a slight effect on cell growth at temperatures between 17 and 37 degrees C. However, immunofluorescence microscopy of nup145 delta N cells with antinucleoporin antibodies showed that the characteristic punctate nuclear staining normally seen in wild-type yeast cells was reduced, with the majority of the signal located in one or two intense spots at the nuclear periphery. Thin section electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of what appeared to be successive herniations of the nuclear envelope forming grape-like structures at primarily one site on the nup145 delta N nuclei. These successive herniations contained numerous NPC-like structures, correlating to the limited bright patches of anti-nucleoporin immunofluorescence signal. In some cases the successive herniations were small. Occasionally, however, multi-lobulated nuclei were seen. We suggest that the ultrastructural phenotype of nup145 delta N cells is due to a defective interaction of nup145 delta N NPCs with the surrounding pore membrane domain of the nuclear envelope. We have also analyzed the synthetic lethal phenotypes among GLFG nucleoporin mutant alleles, and found that strains harboring nup116 and either nup100 or nup145 mutations were not viable. This, in combination with the morphological analysis, may reflect overlapping yet distinct roles for these three GLFG nucleoporins in NPC-nuclear envelope interactions.

Secretory protein translocation in a yeast cell-free system can occur posttranslationally and requires ATP hydrolysis.

We describe an in vitro system with all components derived from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that can translocate a yeast secretory protein across microsomal membranes. In vitro transcribed prepro-alpha-factor mRNA served to program a membrane-depleted yeast translation system. Translocation and core glycosylation of prepro-alpha-factor were observed when yeast microsomal membranes were added during or after translation. A membrane potential is not required for translocation. However, ATP is required for translocation and nonhydrolyzable analogues of ATP cannot serve as a substitute. These findings suggest that ATP hydrolysis may supply the energy required for translocation of proteins across the endoplasmic reticulum.

Lamin B constitutes an intermediate filament attachment site at the nuclear envelope.

We found that urea extraction of turkey erythrocyte nuclear envelopes abolished their ability to bind exogenous 125I-vimentin, while, at the same time, it removed the nuclear lamins from the membranes. After purification of the lamins from such urea extracts, a specific binding between isolated vimentin and lamin B, or a lamin A + B hetero-oligomer, was detected by affinity chromatography. Similar analysis revealed that the 6.6-kD vimentin tail piece was involved in this interaction. By other approaches (quantitative immunoprecipitation, rate zonal sedimentation, turbidometric assays) a substoichiometric lamin B-vimentin binding was determined under in vitro conditions. It was also observed that anti-lamin B antibodies but not other sera (anti-lamin A, anti-ankyrin, preimmune) were able to block 70% of the binding of 125I-vimentin to native, vimentin-depleted, nuclear envelopes. These data, which were confirmed by using rat liver nuclear lamins, indicate that intermediate filaments may be anchored directly to the nuclear lamina, providing a continuous network connecting the plasma membrane skeleton with the karyoskeleton of eukaryotic cells.