The practice and application of electron microscope autoradiography

Observations on the ultrastructure of human urothelium: the response of normal bladder of elderly subjects to hyperthermia

An electron microscopic study of normal bladder urothelium of elderly subjects treated by hyperthermic perfusions has shown that the tissue responds, sooner or later, in every instance by desquamation. There is no evidence of cell death prior to desquamation although various organelles undergo structural alterations. Mitochondria are especially prone to suffer varying degrees of damage. A short heat shock has revealed differences in the initial response of the thick and thin regions of bladder urothelium known to occur in elderly subjects. After a long, fractionated treatment, regeneration is evident within 3 days of the end of treatment, and follow-up biopsies have revealed a hyperplastic urothelium within 10 to 12 weeks. The constituent cells show signs of cytodifferentiation at this time but it remains unknown when an ultrastructurally normal urothelium with characteristic cell layers will be restored. The various treatments in this study suggest that the stem cells in the epithelium are unaffected by the levels of hyperthermia employed and that their unimpaired proliferative capacity ensures regeneration of the urothelium.

In situ hybridization at the electron microscope level: hybrid detection by autoradiography and colloidal gold

In situ hybridization has become a standard method for localizing DNA or RNA sequences in cytological preparations. We developed two methods to extend this technique to the transmission electron microscope level using mouse satellite DNA hybridization to whole mount metaphase chromosomes as the test system. The first method devised is a direct extension of standard light microscope level using mouse satellite DNA hybridization to whole mount metaphase chromosomes as the test system. The first method devised is a direct extension of standard light microscope in situ hybridization. Radioactively labeled complementary RNA (cRNA) is hybridized to metaphase chromosomes deposited on electron microscope grids and fixed in 70 percent ethanol vapor; hybridixation site are detected by autoradiography. Specific and intense labeling of chromosomal centromeric regions is observed even after relatively short exposure times. Inerphase nuclei present in some of the metaphase chromosome preparations also show defined paatterms of satellite DNA labeling which suggests that satellite-containing regions are associate with each other during interphase. The sensitivity of this method is estimated to at least as good as that at the light microscope level while the resolution is improved at least threefold. The second method, which circumvents the use of autoradiogrphic detection, uses biotin-labeled polynucleotide probes. After hybridization of these probes, either DNA or RNA, to fixed chromosomes on grids, hybrids are detected via reaction is improved at least threefold. The second method, which circumvents the use of autoradiographic detection, uses biotin-labeled polynucleotide probes. After hybridization of these probes, either DNA or RNA, to fixed chromosomes on grids, hybrids are detected via reaction with an antibody against biotin and secondary antibody adsorbed to the surface of over centromeric heterochromatin and along the associated peripheral fibers. Labeling is on average ten times that of background binding. This method is rapid and possesses the potential to allow precise ultrastructual localization of DNA sequences in chromosomes and chromatin.

EM autoradiography of non-sectioned biological material

Methods of EM autoradiography suitable for the study of non-sectioned biological material deposited on a support film from suspension are described. The methods, which include modified procedures for specimen support and emulsion preparation, may also have advantages for the study of any specimen where physical separation of specimen and emulsion is desirable. In a study of the growth of 125I-labelled collagen fibrils reconstituted from solution in vitro, these procedures have allowed the production of EM autoradiographs which show a high resolution and are free from stress artefacts and chemography.

Molecular hybridization of RNA and DNA in situ" visualization at the electron microscope level

Electron microscopic visualization of molecular hybrids formed in situ is feasible at the present time. It can be accomplished by two alternative approaches. In one, the in situ hybridization is carried out on ultrathin sections of target embedded in glycol methacrylate. In the other, whole cells are used for hybridization and they are subsequently prepared for electron microscopy. The choice of the method to be adopted depends on the type of target tissue. When there is a choice, the second approach seems preferable. Some of the important technical steps in the hybridization procedure, such as DNA denaturation in ultrathin sections, have been discussed and attention has been drawn to practical problems that may arise during the preparatory steps. Our light microscope experiments demonstrate that preparations made after glutaraldehyde fixation have a lower hybridization efficiency than those fixed with 3 : 1 methanol-acetic acid. Attempts are therefore being made to explore the possibility of using methanol-acetic acid for electron microscope in situ hybridization. First results of straight-forward fixation show that the preservation of nuclear structure may be fairly satisfactory for the purpose. However, the cumultative effects of subsequent treatments in the procedure still remain to be examined. For electron microscope autoradiograph (EM ARG) of hybridized preparations, the most suitable emulsion at present appears to be Ilford L4. Various factors conductive to optimum resolution consistent with maximum efficiency in this emulsion have been pointed out. Practical problems that may arise in autoradiographs of hybridized preparations such as background and variation of grain density in adjacent sections have also been considered.