The separation of cells and organelles by partitioning in two-polymer aqueous phases

Evidence for a water-soluble intermediate in exchange of cholesterol between membranes

The mechanism of inter-membrane cholesterol exchange has been a matter of some debate. Evidence from kinetic studies indicates that cholesterol must transfer to and from membranes in a water-soluble form. In this study attempts have been made to demonstrate that this occurs using either dialysis membranes or a barrierless multiphase polymer system to physically separate the membranes. In both systems small amounts of cholesterol were seen to transfer from one membrane pool to another using both liposomes and erythrocyte membranes as donors or acceptors. The cholesterol transfer was shown to be independent of the movement of other membrane components. The amount of transfer observed was limited by the physical properties of the systems employed. The barrier to cholesterol transfer in the dialysis membrane system is primarily the pore size of the membrane, while in the multiphase polymer system the transfer was limited by the viscosity of the medium and the distance between the lower and upper phases containing the membranes. Nevertheless, the results provide evidence that cholesterol transfer is by a dissociation of molecules from membranes into the aqueous medium and does not require the formation of a collision complex between the membranes.

Cell separations and subfractionations by countercurrent distribution in two-polymer aqueous phase systems depend on non-equilibrium conditions

Certain kinetic aspects of the partitioning behavior of erythrocytes in dextran-poly(ethylene glycol) aqueous phase systems have been examined, and their implications for cell partitioning have been considered. It is concluded that the diverse and sometimes unique fractionations attained by use of multiple extractions (e.g., countercurrent distribution) of cells in two-polymer aqueous-phase systems depend on non-equilibrium conditions.

Antibiotic uptake by bacteria as measured by partition in polymer aqueous phase systems

Polyethyleneglycol/dextran and polyethyleneglycol/salt two-phase systems are used to measure the entry of antibiotics into Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus cells. Aminoglycosides, macrolides, a quinolone, and a cycline were assayed. The method is simple and rapid and eliminates the problems encountered with filters, especially nonspecific binding; it allows rapid uptake kinetics to be measured.

Studies of the growth of human bone-derived cells in culture using aqueous two-phase partition

Human bone cells, maintained in culture, have been subjected to partitioning in an aqueous two-phase system on a countercurrent distribution apparatus. A broad cell distribution was obtained indicating cell-surface heterogeneity. Two major cell populations were identified which appeared to be growing at different rates. The 'fast'-growing cells had a less hydrophobic cell surface than the 'slow'-growing cells. Possible relationships of these cell populations with osteoblast differentiation and the potential importance of this technique in studies of osteoblast differentiation are discussed.

Subcellular fractionation of rat liver homogenates using two-polymer phase systems in a toroidal-coil centrifuge

The principal organelles of rat liver homogenates were fractionated by two-phase partition chromatography using toroidal-coil centrifugation with a mixture of dextran T 500 and poly(ethylene glycol) 6000 in 0.26 M-sucrose containing 10 mM-sodium phosphate/phosphoric acid buffer, pH 7.4. The effects of varying the following parameters on organelle elution profiles, as reflected by their marker-enzyme activities, were studied: centrifuge speed; the composition and relative proportion of dextran-rich and poly(ethylene glycol)-rich phases in the eluent; flow rate; sample volume; homogenate concentration; helix diameter; tubing bore and the number of loops in the coil. Optimal resolution of the organelles was achieved with a toroidal coil of internal diameter 1.07 mm with a 4.55 mm helix diameter on a 0.42 m-diameter rotor running at 1000 rev./min. The eluent was prepared by combining, in a ratio of 93:7 (v/v), the poly(ethylene glycol)-rich upper phase and dextran-rich lower phase obtained from a phase mixture containing 3.3% (w/w) dextran and 5.4% (w/w) poly(ethylene glycol). The flow rate of the eluent was 14ml/h. Optimal conditions for separation of the organelles were evaluated. Resolution of plasma membrane and lysosomes was achieved. Separation of endoplasmic reticulum, which showed marked heterogeneity, from plasma membrane was also demonstrated. DNA and marker enzymes for peroxisomes, mitochondria and cytosol showed distinct elution profiles.

Affinity partitioning of proteins in aqueous two-phase systems containing polymer-bound fatty acids. I. Effect of polyethylene glycol palmitate on the partition of human serum albumin and alpha-lactalbumin

The partition of serum albumin between the two aqueous phases of a polyethylene glycol-dextran-water two-phase system is strongly influenced by replacing a small fraction of the polyethylene glycol by its palmitate ester. The partition of albumin is compared with the partition of polymer-bound palmitate using polyethylene glycol [1-14C]palmitate. The data indicate that a maximum ("saturation") effect on the partition of albumin corresponds to a binding of fewer than two palmitate groups per albumin molecule. The effect on alpha-lactalbumin corresponds to the maximum binding of 0.5 palmitate group per protein molecule. These data do not fit the most favoured available model for affinity partitioning. The deviation can be attributed to the observation that the palmitate groups probably form micelle-type aggregates in the polyethylene glycol-rich phase at the concentrations used for albumin extraction.

Effect of lipid composition on hydrophobic properties of liposomes

Partition behavior of liposomes of different composition in the aqueous Ficoll-Dextran biphasic system was examined. The relative hydrophobicity of the liposomes was estimated. The effect of cholesterol on the solvent interactions of lecithin and sphingomyelin liposomes was studied. It is found that the effect of phosphatidylethanolamine on the hydrophobic character of lecithin liposomes exceeds that produced by cholesterol. The relative hydrophobicity of all the liposomes examined was found to be independent of the ionic composition of the system containing varied amounts of NaCl and Na-phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The hydrophobic character of the liposomes under study is shown to increase in the following order: phosphatidylserine less than phosphatidylethanolamine less than phosphatidylcholine less than sphingomyelin. Hydrophobic properties of the liposomes are compared to those of human red cells. It is suggested that the dependence of the hydrophobic character of membrane particles on the ionic composition of an aqueous environment can be of fundamental importance for the selective distribution of the particles in vivo.

Cell separation: a review

This review summarizes currently available techniques for cell separation. Techniques that exploit differences in physical properties of cells are widely used but have a number of limitations. Those that are based on differences in surface properties may more readily permit reproducible separation of a functionally homogeneous population of cells. Unfortunately very few techniques achieve separation of cells on the basis of differences in their functional characteristics.

Detection of surface differences between two closely related cell populations by partitioning isotopically labeled mixed cell populations in two-polymer aqueous phases. I. Human red blood cell subpopulations

The partition behavior of cells in dextran-poly(ethylene glycol) aqueous phases (i.e., the cells' relative affinity for the top or bottom phase or their adsorption at the interface) is greatly dependent on the polymer concentrations and ionic composition and concentration. Appropriate selection of phase system composition permits detection of differences in either charge-associated or lipid-related surface properties. We have now developed a method that can reveal differences by partitioning that fall within experimental error if one were to compare countercurrent distribution (CCD) curves of two closely related cell populations run separately. One cell population is isotopically labeled in vitro (e.g., with 51Cr-chromate) and is mixed with an excess of the unlabeled cell population with which it is to be compared. The mixture is subjected to CCD and the relative specific radio-activities are determined through the distribution. As control we also examine a mixture of labeled cells and unlabeled cells of the same population. The feasibility of this method was established by use of cell mixtures the relative partition coefficients of which were known. The procedure was then used to test for human erythrocyte subpopulations. 51Cr-chromate-labeled human young or old red blood cells were mixed with unfractionated erythrocytes and subjected to CCD in a phase system reflecting charge-associated properties. It was found that older cells had a high, young cells (probably only reticulocytes) a low partition coefficient. Because of the small differences involved these results were not previously obtained. It was further determined, by repartitioning 51Cr-labeled cells from the left or right ends of a CCD of human red blood cells admixed to unlabeled unfractionated erythrocytes, that a subpopulation with higher partition coefficient exists (probably constituting the old red cells). These experiments serve to illustrate (a) that human red blood cells, contrary to a previous report, can be subfractionated by partitioning and (b) the usefulness of this new method in detecting smaller surface differences between closely related cell populations than was heretofore possible by partitioning alone.

Segregation into separate rouleaux of erythrocytes from different species. Evidence against the agglomerin hypothesis of rouleaux formation

Erythrocytes from one species were labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and mixed with unlabelled erythrocytes from another species. Albumin polymers were added to generate rouleaux. The species of origin of erythrocytes in rouleaux was determined by fluorescence microscopy. Erythrocytes from different species segregated into independent rouleaux. However, fluorescent and non-fluorescent erythrocytes from one individual were mixed randomly in rouleaux. These results confirm, using a novel experimental approach, previous observations of Sewchand & Canham [(1976) Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 54, 437-442]. Since rouleaugenic agents are not species-specific, under the 'agglomerin' hypothesis of rouleau formation they would be expected to form bridges between cells from different species. It follows that either the agglomerin hypothesis is incorrect, or additional species-specific surface components are involved in the aggregation of agglomerin-cross-bridged cells.

Biochemical and morphological comparison of postsynaptic densities prepared from rat, hamster, and monkey brains by phase partitioning

A new procedure for the preparation of postsynaptic densities (PSDs) is described. A synaptic membrane fraction was homogenized in an aqueous two-phase polymer system containing Poly(ethylene glycol) 6000 (5% wt/wt) and Dextran T500 (6% wt/wt) containing 1% 1-o-n-octyl-beta-D-glucoside. Following a brief centrifugation to separate the phases, highly purified PSDs banded at the interface of the two phases. Using this procedure PSDs have been isolated from rat and hamster cerebral cortex and from the frontal cortex, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and pooled caudate/putamen regions of Macaca mulatta Rhesus monkeys. The isolated PSDs appeared as curved bars when sectioned or as discs when viewed en face in the electron microscope. The hamster PSDs were associated with large numbers of small rod-like structures 4.5 nm thick and 28 nm long. Similar structures were present, although in fewer numbers, in the rat and monkey preparations. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the PSDs contained a complex population of proteins with major components having molecular weights of 180,000, 130,000, 110,000, 94,000, 65,000, 60,000, and 51,000. Reaction of polyacrylamide gels with 125I-concanavalin A (Con A) identified two major (apparent Mr 180,000 and 130,000) and three minor (apparent Mr 230,000, 145,000, and 110,000) Con A-binding glycoproteins in the PSD fractions. Although some quantitative variation between species and brain regions was apparent, the overall protein and glycoprotein composition was similar for all fractions studied.

Induction in primary culture of 'gluconeogenic' and 'glycolytic' hepatocytes resembling periportal and perivenous cells

Adult rat hepatocytes were kept in primary culture for 48 h under different hormonal conditions to induce an enzyme pattern which with respect to carbohydrate metabolism approximated that of periportal and perivenous hepatocytes in vivo. 1. Glucagon-treated cells compared with control cells possessed a lower activity of glucokinase, a 4.5-fold higher activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and unchanged levels of glucose-6-phosphatase, phosphofructokinase, fructose-bisphosphatase and pyruvate kinase; they resembled in a first approximation the periportal cell type and are called for simplicity 'periportal'. Inversely, insulin-treated cells compared with control cells contained a 2.2-fold higher activity of glucokinase, a slightly decreased activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, increased activities of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase and unaltered levels of glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-bisphosphatase; they resembled perivenous cells and are called simply 'perivenous'. Gluconeogenesis and glycolysis were studied under various substrate and hormone concentrations. 2. Physiological concentrations of glucose (5 mM) and lactate (2 mM) gave about 80% saturation of gluconeogenesis from lactate and less than 15% saturation of glycolysis at a simultaneous 40% inhibition of the glycolytic rate by lactate. 3. Comparison of the two cell types showed that under identical assay conditions (5 mM glucose, 2 mM lactate, 0.5 nM insulin, 0.1 muM dexamethasone) gluconeogenesis was 1.5-fold faster in the 'periportal' cells and glycolysis was 2.4-fold faster in the 'perivenous' cells. 4. Metabolic rates were under short-term hormonal control. Insulin increased glycolysis three fold in both cell types with a half-maximal effect at about 0.4 nM, but did not influence the gluconeogenic rate. Glucagon inhibited glycolysis by 70% with a half-maximal effect at about 0.1 nM. Gluconeogenesis was stimulated by glucagon (half-maximal dose: 0.5 nM) 1.8-fold only in 'periportal' cells containing high phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity, not in the 'perivenous' cells with a low level of this enzyme. 5. A comparison of the two cell types showed that with maximally stimulating hormone concentrations gluconeogenesis was threefold faster in 'periportal' cells and glycolysis was eightfold faster in 'perivenous' cells. The results support the view that periportal and perivenous hepatocytes in vivo catalyse gluconeogenesis and glycolysis at inverse rates.

Functional hepatocellular heterogeneity

Hepatocytes from the periportal (afferent) and perivenous (efferent) zones of the liver parenchyma differ in their enzyme content and subcellular structures. Therefore, different functions are proposed for the two zones. (a) Oxidative energy metabolism, beta-oxidation, amino acid catabolism, ureagenesis from amino acids, gluconeogenesis, bile acid, and bilirubin excretion and oxidation protection are preferentially located in the periportal zone. (b) Glycolysis, liponeogenesis, ureagenesis from ammonia, and biotransformation are predominantly situated in the perivenous zone. Heterogeneity in the synthesis of plasma proteins also appears to exist. The heterogeneous expression of the genome in hepatocytes is apparently caused by the periportal to perivenous gradient in oxygen and hormone concentrations, and by a different autonomic innervation of the parenchymal zones.