Electron microscopy of Trichamoeba villosa and amoeboid movement

Thin (actin) and thick (myosinlike) filaments in cone contraction in the teleost retina

The long slender retinal cones of fishes shorten in the light and elongate in the dark. Light-induced cone shortening provides a useful model for stuying nonmuscle contraction because it is linear, slow, and repetitive. Cone cells contain both thin (actin) and thick (myosinlike) filaments oriented parallel to the axis of contraction. This study examines the polarities of the cone's thin filaments and the changes in filament distribution which accompany light-induced contraction, in an attempt to elucidate the structural basis for the cone's contractile process. The proximal half of the cone is fixed to its cellular neighbors in the outer nuclear layer while the distal half is free. Thus, all shortening takes place in a necklike region (the myoid) in the distal half of the cone which extends into the space between the neural retina and the pigmented retinal epithelium. Thin filaments are found throughout the length of the cone, whereas thick filaments occur predominantly in the proximal (axon) regions of both light- and dark-adapted cones. Thus, thick filaments are primarily localized outside the region where shortening takes place. Observations from myosin subfragment-1 binding studies suggest that the cone's thin filaments are organized into two opposing sets. In the distal half of the cone (including the myoid), virtually all filaments have proximally directed arrowheads. In the more proximal regions of the axon, many thin filaments have opposite polarity, their arrowheads being distally directed. Near the synaptic proximal end of the light-adapted (contracted) cone, filaments of opposite polarities occur in approximately equal numbers. Thus, in the cone axon there appear to be two overlapping sets of actin filaments whose opposite polarities correspond to the two actin halves of a muscle sarcomere. In elongated, dark-adapted cones, thick filaments are localized throughout the axon region of the cone. In light, thick filaments accumulate towards the proximal end of the cone. These observations are consistent with a "sliding hypothesis" for cone contraction, in which thick myosinlike filaments produce sliding interdigitation of the two sets of oppositely directed actin filaments in the proximal axon region. Thus, the myoid thin filaments would be essentially reeled into the axon region to produce shortening. The mechanism of re-elongation depends on microtubules, as discussed in the companion paper.

Cytoplasmic filaments of Amoeba proteus. I. The role of filaments in consistency changes and movement

The role of filaments in consistency changes and movement in a motile cytoplasmic extract of Amoeba proteus was investigated by correlating light and electron microscopic observations with viscosity measurements. The extract is prepared by the method of Thompson and Wolpert (1963). At 0 degrees C, this extract is nonmotile and similar in structure to ameba cytoplasm, consisting of groundplasm, vesicles, mitochondria, and a few 160 A filaments. The extract undergoes striking ATP-stimulated streaming when warmed to 22 degrees C. Two phases of movement are distinguished. During the first phase, the apparent viscosity usually increases and numerous 50-70 A filaments appear in samples of the extract prepared for electron microscopy, suggesting that the increase in viscosity in caused, at least in part, by the formation of these thin filaments. During this initial phase of ATP-stimulated movement, these thin filaments are not detectable by phase-contrast or polarization microscopy, but later, in the second phase of movement, 70 A filaments aggregate to form birefringent microscopic fibrils. A preparation of pure groundplasm with no 160 A filaments or membranous organelles exhibits little or no ATP-stimulated movement, but 50-70 A filaments form and aggregate into birefringent fibrils. This observation and the structural relationship of the 70 A and the 160 A filaments in the motile extract suggest that both types of filaments may be required for movement. These two types of filaments, 50-70 A and 160 A, are also present in the cytoplasm of intact amebas. Fixed cells could not be used to study the distribution of these filaments during natural ameboid movement because of difficulties in preserving the normal structure of the ameba during preparation for electron microscopy.

The fine structure of Acanthamoeba castellanii. I. The trophozoite

The fine structure of the trophozoite of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Neff strain) has been studied. Locomotor pseudopods, spikelike "acanthopodia," and microprojections from the cell surface are all formed by hyaline cytoplasm, which excludes formed elements of the cell and contains a fine fibrillar material. Golgi complex, smooth and rough forms of endoplasmic reticulum, digestive vacuoles, mitochondria, and the water-expulsion vesicle (contractile vacuole) are described. A canicular system opening into the water-expulsion vesicle contains tubules about 600 A in diameter that are lined with a filamentous material. The tubules are continuous with unlined vesicles or ampullae of larger diameter. Centrioles were not observed, but cytoplasmic microtubules radiate from a dense material similar to centriolar satellites and are frequently centered in the Golgi complex. Cytoplasmic reserve materials include both lipid and glycogen, each of which amounts to about 10% of the dry weight.

Further electron microscope studies on fibrillar organization of the ground cytoplasm of Chaos chaos

Further evidence for fibrillar organization of the ground cytoplasm of Chaos chaos is presented. Fixations with osmium tetroxide at pH 6 or 8 and with glutaraldehyde at pH 6 or 7 were used on two preparations: (a) single actively streaming cells; (b) prechilled cells treated with 0.05% Alcian blue in the cold and returned to room temperature for 5-10 min. In addition, a 50,000 g pellet of homogenized cells was examined after fixation with glutaraldehyde-formaldehyde alone. In sections from actively streaming cells considerable numbers of filaments were observed in the uroid regions after glutaraldehyde fixation, whereas only traces of filaments were seen after osmium tetroxide fixation at either pH 6 or 8. Microtubules were not seen. In sections from dye-treated cells, filaments (4-6 mmicro) and fibrils (12-15 mmicro) were found with all three fixatives. The 50,000 g pellet was heterogeneous but contained both clumps of fibrils and single thick fibrils like those seen in the cytoplasm of dye-treated cells. Many fibrils of the same dimensions (12-15 mmicro wide, 0.5 micro long) were also seen in the supernatant above the pellet. Negative staining showed that some fibrils separated into at least three strands of 4-6 mmicro filaments.