Inhibition of surface capping of macromolecules by local anaesthetics and tranquillisers.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M J Karnovsky.
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The altered functional properties of the glomerular capillary wall in a model of autologous immune complex disease (Heymann's nephritis) was studied by electron microscopy using intravenously injected protein tracers of varying molecular weight. There was an increase in the permeability of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) itself to large molecules; this change was focal and was found in those areas where the GBM contained immune complex deposits. Both ferritin and catalase, tracers normally restricted from passing the glomerular filter, were present in the urinary space within minutes of injection. No evidence was obtained for increased glomerular epithelial transport in this disease. Foot process swelling and "close" junction formation was moderate, even in animals with marked degrees of proteinuria. Indirect evidence, therefore, makes an alteration in the slit pore complex likely. In addition, there was immediate and selective concentration of all tracers within deposits, though ferritin was partially excluded from some deposits. This phenomenon may be of significance in the perpetuation of the disease.
Microscopic examination of spleen lymphocytes discloses a small number moving at random at a given time. The majority of lymphocytes with this spontaneous movement are thymic derived. Addition of anti-Ig antibodies stimulates random movement of B lymphocytes. This movement depends upon a bivalent antibody and a metabolically active cell. The movement is inhibited by DFP, suggesting the involvement of a serine esterase. Also the anti-Ig stimulated movement of the lymphocyte is inhibited by cytochalasin B or by not allowing the cells to settle onto a surface. Lymphocytes treated with DFP or cytochalasin B, or untreated lymphocytes in suspension, capped the anti-Ig-Ig complexes. Hence, one can dissociate the surface capping of anti-Ig-Ig complexes from cell movement. We postulate that capping may result from superficial movements of the surface and/or from membrane flow, both of which are not related to actual translation of the cell on a surface. Four effects have now been observed following combination of a ligand with the antigen receptor on the B lymphocytes: redistribution on the surface of the complexes; pinocytosis and catabolism; shedding into the extracellular environment; and stimulation of translational movement.
Replicas of freeze-fractured toad urinary bladder and gallbladder were analysed in an attempt to determine the fracturing properties and structure of the zonula occludens (tight junction). Chalcroft and Bullivant have proposed that the junction has a double set of fibrils with one set associated with each of the adjacent cell membranes. However, the fracturing pattern that is observed might also result from only a single set of fibrils which is shared by the adjacent membranes if fracturing occurred around either side of the fibrils. These two models predict quite different structures at regions of the junction where tranl sitions are made between face A and face B. The relative heights of face A and face B and the shape of the transition from face A to face B do not agree with that expected according to the two fibril model but agree exactly with that expected if only a single set of fibrils existed. Further evidence for the single fibril model is derived from fractures of the mucosa membrane which cross the junction to the membrane of the adjacent cell without deflection. Such fractures reveal a single ridge which appears to be identical to the juxtaluminal fibril of the junction. In addition, small ridges are occasionally found in place of the grooves on face B which, although not consistent with the double fibril model, is expected if the single fibril model were correct. Although alternative explanations might account for these observations, we believe that the simplest and most consistent explanation is that the zonula occludens fractures as would be expected of a single set of fibrils shared by adjacent cells.
This study demonstrates, by freeze fracture, clustering of intramembranous particles caused by cryoprotectant treatment of intact unfixed mouse lymphoid cells. Both T and B cells react in a similar fashion, while similar clustering of particles is not observed in some other cell types. The intramembranous particles can be aggregated by incubating unfixed cells in glycerol or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) before freezing. The aggregation phenomenon is dependent on the length of time of exposure and the concentration of the cryoprotectants. Further, the cells remain viable and the cryoprotectant-induced clustering is completely reversible. Prefixation of glycerol-treated cells with glutaraldehyde prevents the formation of these particle clusters, and unfixed nonglycerinated cells show no clusters. Thin sections of cells exposed to glycerol or DMSO without previous fixation exhibit bizarre membrane alterations and numerous other degenerative changes. These observations stress the importance of prefixation of lymphoid cells before exposure to glycerol or DMSO, as well as indicate that the membrane characteristics of certain cell types may be probed by glycerol treatment of unfixed cells.
The highly ordered, isoporous substructure of the glomerular slit diaphragm was revealed in rat and mouse kidneys fixed by perfusion with tannic acid and glutaraldehyde. The slit diaphragm was similar in both animal species and appeared as a continuous junctional band, 300-450 A wide, consistently present within all slits formed by the epithelial foot processes. The diaphragm exhibited a zipper-like substructure with alternating, periodic cross bridges extending from the podocyte plasma membranes to a central filament which ran parallel to and equidistant from the cell membranes. The dimensions and spacing of the cross bridges defined a uniform population of rectangular pores approximately 40 by 140 A in cross section and 70 A in length. The total area of the pores was calculated to be about 2-3% of the total surface area of the glomerular capillaries. Physiological data indicate that the glomerular filter functions as if it were an isoporous membrane which excludes proteins larger than serum albumin. The similarity between the dimensions of the pores in the slit diaphragm and estimates for the size and shape of serum albumin supports the conclusion from tracer experiments that the slit diaphragm may serve as the principal filtration barrier to plasma proteins in the kidney.
The distribution of surface-bound concanavalin A on the membranes of 3T3, and simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cultured mouse fibroblasts was examined using a shadow-cast replica technique with a hemocyanin marker. When cells were prefixed in paraformaldehyde, the binding site distribution was always random on both cell types. On the other hand, labeling of transformed cells with concanavalin A (Con A) and hemocyanin at 37 degrees C resulted in the organization of Con A binding sites (CABS) into clusters (primary organization) which were not present on the pseudopodia and other peripheral areas of the membrane (secondary organization). Treatment of transformed cells with colchicine, cytochalasin B, or 2-deoxyglucose did not alter the inherent random distribution of binding sites as determined by fixation before labeling. However, these drugs produced marked changes in the secondary (but not the primary) organization of CABS on transformed cells labeled at 37 degrees C. Colchicine treatment resulted in the formation of a caplike aggregation of binding site clusters near the center of the cell, whereas cytochalasin B and 2-deoxyglucose led to the formation of patches of CABS over the entire membrane, eliminating the inward displacement of patches observed on untreated cells. The distribution of bound Con A on normal cells (3T3) at 37 degrees C was always random, in both control and drug-treated preparations. Pretreatment of cells with Con A enhanced the effect of colchicine on cell morphology, but inhibited the morphological effects of cytochalasin B. The mechanisms that determine receptor movement and disposition are discussed.
Exposing the mucosal epithelium of the toad urinary bladder to 240 mM urea in Ringer's solution is known to cause a dramatic increase in the permeability of the zonulae occludentes and the appearance of distended, bubble-like compartments within these junctions. Examination of such osmotically disrupted junctions with the freeze-fracture technique reveals that these bubbles result from a distention of the compartments existing within the meshwork of interconnecting fibrils characteristic of the zonulae occludentes in this epithelium. Frequent discontinuities in the meshwork of fibrils are also found after osmotic disruption of the junction. These observations indicate the essential role of these fibrils in maintaining the characteristic properties of the zonula occludens as a site of cell-to-cell attachment and as a permeability seal.
Human neutrophil polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) were studied to determine the influence of cellular locomotion upon the redistribution and capping of concanavalin A (Con A). Con A was detected by fluorescence (using Con A conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate [Con A-FITC]), or on shadow-cast replicas (using Busycon canaliculatum hemocyanin as a marker for Con A). After labeling with Con A 100 microg/ml at 4 degrees C and warming to 37 degrees C, locomotion occurred, and the Con A quickly aggregated into a cap at the trailing end of the cell. When locomotion was inhibited (with cytochalasin B, or by incubation in serum-free medium at 18 degrees C) Con A rapidly formed a cap over the central region of the cell. Iodoacetamide inhibited capping. PMN labeled with FITC, a monovalent ligand, developed caps at the tail only on motile cells; FITC remained dispersed on immobilized cells. PMN exposed to Con A 100 microg/ml at 37 degrees C bound more lectin than at 4 degrees C, became immobilized, and showed slow central capping. The Con A soon became internalized to form a perinuclear ring. Such treatment in the presence of cytochalasin B resulted in the quick formation of persistent central caps. Colchicine (or prior cooling) protected PMN from the immobilizing effect of Con A, and tail caps were found on 30-40% of cells. Immobilization of colchicine-treated cells caused Con A to remain in dispersed clusters. Thus, capping on PMN is a temperature- and energy-dependent process that proceeds independently of cellular locomotion, provided a colchicine-sensitive system is intact and the ligand is capable of cross linking receptors. On the other hand, if the cell does move, it appears that ligands may be swept into a cap at the tail whether cross-linking occurs or not.
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Spleen lymphocytes were studied for the movement and interiorization of complexes of anti-Ig-surface Ig. The movement of the complex into a small, compact zone of the cell membrane (forming a cap) was inhibited by drugs that inhibited glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, but not by drugs that affected protein synthesis. Dead lymphocytes did not form caps. Freeze-etching techniques revealed that inhibited lymphocytes showed formation of multiple small complexes over the entire cell surface. Inhibitors of glycolysis and of oxidative phosphorylation also inhibited the interiorization and catabolism of radioiodinated anti-Ig. We hypothesize that cross-linking of all the surface Ig triggers the membrane movements that are required to pull the lattice into one zone of the cell.
The topographical distributions of concanavalin A-binding sites on the surfaces of 3T3, proteasetreated 3T3, and simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cultured mouse fibroblasts appear to be different, as shown by a shadow-cast replica technique using concanavalin A and a hemocyanin marker, or as shown previously on isolated membranes with concanavalin A coupled to ferritin. However, chemical fixation of cells before labeling with concanavalin A and hemocyanin, or labeling exclusively at 4 degrees , allows one to distinguish between inherent concanavalin A-binding-site topography and potential rearrangement of sites induced by the action of the multivalent concanavalin A molecule itself. The inherent distribution of binding sites on 3T3, protease-treated 3T3, and transformed cells is actually the same on all cells, i.e., dispersed and random. Treatment of unfixed transformed or protease-treated 3T3 cells, but not normal 3T3 cells, with concanavalin A and hemocyanin at 37 degrees (or at 4 degrees with subsequent warming to 37 degrees ), however, results in clustering of binding sites, presumably due to crosslinking of neighboring lectin-binding sites by the quadrivalent concanavalin A. Thus, the underlying difference between concanavalin A-binding sites on normal as compared with transformed or protease-treated normal cells lies not in the inherent topography of binding sites, but rather in the susceptibility of the sites to aggregation by concanavalin A. The latter may reflect an increased mobility of lectin-binding sites on transformed or protease-treated cells.
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Normal human peripheral blood lymphocytes were studied with fluorescent anti-immunoglobulin antibodies and shown to have a patchy distribution of immunoglobulin on their surfaces that does not form a cap after complexing with antibody. Use of freeze-etch electron microscopy confirmed the distribution of immunoglobulin in isolated patches on the membrane. Evidence is presented that this distribution may explain the absence of capping of these human cells as compared with mouse B-lymphocytes.Studies of the metabolism of antibody bound to the cell surface revealed rapid shedding of complexes from the cell and also rapid endocytosis with subsequent degradation of the antibody. Several attempts to alter this distribution of immunoglobulin on the surface were unsuccessful. Possible mechanisms by which cell surface elements may be organized are discussed, as well as the significance of the results in terms of the immune response and the classification of certain lymphoproliferative diseases.
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The fate of different complexes on the membrane of thymocytes and spleen lymphocytes was studied with the use of both immunofluorescence and ultrastructural radioautography. The complexes of anti-immunoglobulin (Ig) with the surface Ig of B lymphocytes were present all around the membrane at 4 degrees C; an increase in temperature produced a rapid aggregation of the complex into a cap which was readily interiorized in vesicles. Ultrastructural details of this process were given. The movement of the complexes depended upon the amount of anti-Ig and the temperature. The complexes of anti-lymphocyte antibody with surface antigen(s) did not result in formation of a single large aggregate (or cap) unless an anti-antibody was brought into the reaction. The caps formed by this trilayered complex were not interiorized. Concanavalin A (Con A) bound to cell surface carbohydrate moieties and the complexes of Con A readily formed a cap and were interiorized. Finally, antibodies to H-2 determinants did not form in most instances a single cap aggregate even when anti-antibodies were used. With time the H-2 complexes tended to form several large aggregates with some endocytosis.