Studies on cell deformability. 3. Some effects of EDTA on sarcoma 37 cells

The nonlethal procedure of incubation in EDTA solution makes the peripheral regions of ascites sarcoma 37 cells more easily deformable, as reflected in measurements of the decreased amount of negative pressure required to suck out standard hemispherical bulges from the cells into micropipettes. The facilitation of deformability was abolished after reincubation of cells in calcium-containing saline, and this mechanical parameter was partially restored to normal after reincubation in magnesium-containing saline; the mechanical effect of EDTA treatment is, therefore, thought to be due mainly to the removal of calcium from the cell periphery. As EDTA treatment produces no detectable change in cellular electrophoretic mobility, it is concluded that peripheral calcium must be bound to anionic sites deeper than about 10 A from the cellular hydrodynamic slip plane. The data are discussed with emphasis on the view that they should not be extrapolated freely to other cell types.

Studies on cell deformability. II. Effects of some proteolytic enzymes

Murine sarcoma 37 ascites cells were treated with the proteolytic enzymes, trypsin and chymotrypsin, after which cellular deformability and electrophoretic mobility were measured. It was shown that incubation with trypsin increased the ease with which the cells could be deformed without changing electrophoretic mobility, and that diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP)-trypsin was inactive, a fact which suggests that trypsin-sensitive peptide linkages help to maintain the "tension" at the cell periphery. On the other hand, chymotrypsin reduced cellular electrophoretic mobility without appreciably altering deformability. This suggests that, although chymotrypsin-sensitive bonds do not contribute to "tension," they are in some way associated with charged groups at the cell periphery.

Transformation of monocytes in tissue culture into macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinucleated giant cells. An electron microscope study

The sequential transformation of chicken monocytes into macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinucleated giant cells in vitro was studied by electron microscopy after fixation and embedment in situ. The following changes occur. In the nucleus, margination of chromatin, evident in monocytes, decreases in later forms. Nucleoli become more complex and nuclear pores increase in number. In cytoplasm, a progressive increase in volume of the ectoplasm and endoplasm occurs in culture. Lysosomes increase in number and size prior to phagocytosis. During phagocytosis (most active from 1 to 3 days of culture) lysosome depletion occurs. Lysosomes are present in greatest number and show maximal structural variation in the epithelioid and young giant cells. Aging giant cells lose lysosomes. All stages possess variably large quantities of rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes. The Golgi apparatus, small in monocytes, increases in size and complexity. Massive accumulations of lysosomes within the Golgi apparatus of macrophages and epithelioid cells suggest that lysosomes originate there. In giant cells, multiple Golgi regions occur, often ringing the nuclei. Monocytes and macrophages have few mitochondria. Mitochondria of epithelioid cells are larger, more numerous, and may have discontinuous outer membranes. Mitochondria are most numerous in giant cells where they increase with age and become polymorphous. Cytoplasmic filaments are approximately 50 to 60 A in diameter and of indeterminate length. They occur both singly and in bundles which touch cytoplasmic vesicles and mitochondria. Few filaments occur in monocytes and macrophages. A large increase in the number of filaments occurs in epithelioid cells, where filaments (90 to 100 A) surround the cytocentrum as a distinctive annular bundle often branching into the cytoplasm. The greatest concentration of filaments occurs in aged giant cells. Pseudopodia are always present. They are short and filiform in monocytes and giant cells, and broad, with abundant micropinocytotic vesicles, in macrophages and epithelioid cells. At every stage, the cell membrane contains dense cuplike structures. These may represent the membranous residue of lysosomes which have discharged to the outside, analogous to merocrine secretion. Contiguous epithelioid cells display elaborate cytoplasmic interdigitation. In places, the plasma membranes break down and epithelioid cells fuse to form giant cells.

An electron microscope study of lymphatic tissue in runt disease

The thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes were studied in runt disease induced by a graft of intravenously injected homologous splenic cells into newborn rats and mice. Adult Long-Evans cells (70 x 10(6)) were injected into Sprague-Dawley rats. Adult DBA cells (7 x 10(6)) were injected into C57BL/6 mice. Runted rats were sacrificed at 14 to 28 days of age; mice at 10 to 20 days. The thymic cortex is depleted of small lymphocytes. Those remaining are severely damaged and phagocytized. Evidence of damage includes swelling of mitochondria, myelin figure formation, margination of chromatin, and sharp angulation in nuclear contour. Large numbers of macrophages are present. Epithelial-reticular cells which envelop small cortical blood vessels are often retracted, with the result that the most peripheral layer in the thymic-blood barrier suffers abnormally large gaps. Lymphocytes of the periarterial lymphatic sheaths of spleen and of the cortex of lymph nodes are reduced in number and damaged. Vast numbers of plasma cells and many lymphocytes are evident throughout lymph nodes, in the periarterial lymphatic sheaths, and in the marginal zone and red pulp of the spleen. Plasma cells are of different sizes, the larger having dilated sacs of endoplasmic reticulum. Lymphocytes are small to medium in size. They contain, in varying quantity, ribosomes and smooth membrane-bounded cytoplasmic vesicles approximately 350 to 500 A in diameter. Most plasma cells and lymphocytes are damaged and many of these are phagocytized. Many lymphocytes in lymph nodes, however, show no evidence of damage. Reticular cells and other fixed cells of the connective tissues seldom appear affected. Thus, the major cell types reacting in runt disease are lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes or macrophages. It appears, therefore, that both the delayed and immediate types of sensitivity play a part in this disease.