Compartmentalization of intracellular membrane glycocomponents is revealed by fracture-label

Intracellular transport and maturation pathway of human herpesvirus 6

A peculiar characteristic of cells infected with human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6) is the absence of viral glycoproteins on the plasma membrane, which may reflect an atypical intracellular transport of the virions and/or the viral glycoproteins, different from that of the other members of the herpesvirus family. To investigate the maturation pathway of HHV-6 in the human T lymphoid cell line HSB-2, we used lectin cytochemistry and immunogold labeling combined with several electron microscopical techniques, such as ultrathin frozen sections, postembedding, and fracture-label. Immunolabeling with anti-gp116 and anti-gp82-gp105 monoclonal antibodies revealed that the viral glycoproteins are undetectable on nuclear membranes and that at the inner nuclear membrane nucleocapsids acquire a primary envelope lacking viral glycoproteins. After de-envelopment, cytoplasmic nucleocapsids acquire a thick tegument and a secondary envelope with viral glycoproteins at the level of neo-formed annulate lamellae or at the cis-side of the Golgi complex. Cytochemical labeling using helix pomatia lectin revealed that the newly acquired secondary viral envelopes contain intermediate forms of glycocomponents, suggesting a sequential glycosylation of the virions during their transit through the Golgi area before their final release into the extracellular space. Immunogold labeling also showed that the viral glycoproteins, which are not involved in the budding process, reach and accumulate in the endosomal/lysosomal compartment. Pulse-chase analysis indicated degradation of the gp116, consistent with its endosomal localization and with the absence of viral glycoproteins on the cell surface of the infected cells.

Viral glycoproteins accumulate in newly formed annulate lamellae following infection of lymphoid cells by human herpesvirus 6

Ultrastructural analysis of HSB-2 T-lymphoid cells and human cord blood mononuclear cells infected with human herpesvirus 6 revealed the presence, in the cell cytoplasm, of annulate lamellae (AL), which were absent in uninfected cells. Time course analysis of the appearance of AL following viral infection showed that no AL were visible within the first 72 h postinfection and that their formation correlated with the expression of the late viral glycoprotein gp116. The requirement of active viral replication for AL neoformation was further confirmed by experiments using inactivated virus or performed in presence of the viral DNA polymerase inhibitor phosphonoacetic acid. Both conventional electron microscopic examination and immunogold fracture labeling with anti-endoplasmic reticulum antibodies indicated a close relationship of AL with the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear membranes. However, when the freeze-fractured cells were immunogold labeled with an anti-gp116 monoclonal antibody, AL membranes were densely labeled, whereas nuclear membranes and endoplasmic reticulum cisternae appeared virtually unlabeled, showing that viral envelope glycoproteins selectively accumulate in AL. In addition, gold labeling with Helix pomatia lectin and wheat germ agglutinin indicated that AL cisternae, similar to cis-Golgi membranes, contain intermediate, but not terminal, forms of glycoconjugates. Taken together, these results suggest that in this cell-virus system, AL function as a viral glycoprotein storage compartment and as a putative site of O-glycosylation.

Freeze-fracture immunogold labeling

Several approaches have been developed to combine immunogold cytochemistry and freeze-fracture techniques. These methods are highly heterogeneous regarding both the sequence of the procedural steps and the aspect of the resulting images. They imply immunolabeling either before or after freeze-fracture or even immunolabeling of platinum/carbon replicas of the freeze-fractured membranes, and have been used alternatively or in parallel to address different questions related to cell membrane structure, composition and dynamics or to intracellular membrane traffic. This review will briefly describe these methods and report most of their immunogold cytochemical applications, with the aim of facilitating selection of the most appropriate approach.

The pivotal role of the plasma membrane-cytoskeletal complex and of epithelium formation in differentiation in animals

1. If a few exceptions are disregarded, the several somatic cell types of a differentiated organism all have an identical genome. They all differ in their plasma membrane-cytoskeletal complex. 2. Differences in plasma membrane properties usually result in differences in ionic concentrations/activities in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. A basic question therefore is whether there exists a causal relationship between the ionic environment of the nucleus and differential gene expression/protein synthesis. 3. Development is switched on by a "Ca2+ explosion", often accompanied by pH changes and plasma membrane depolarisation. The penetration of the spermatozoon in the plasma membrane acts as a trigger. 4. All animal species develop from a blastula. At this stage they organise themselves as an epithelium enclosing an inner (fluid) compartment. This suggests that epithelium formation is absolutely essential in animal development. 5. As development proceeds, more and more compartments, lined by different epithelia, are formed. Differentiated organisms largely consist of folded epithelia. Some cells leave their original epithelial environment and become free floating (e.g. blood cells) or engage in other types of organisation. 6. Epithelial cells have the ability to segregate some membrane proteins, e.g. receptors, ion pumps, ion channels etc., so as to make selective transcellular transport possible. The cytoskeleton plays an important role in this segregation and in the interconnection of epithelial cells. 7. Transembryonic electric currents which have been measured by the vibrating probe technique, are due to electrogenic ion transport by epithelia. 8. Segregation of membrane proteins is not an exclusive property of epithelial cells but it is probably a property of all animal cell types, single cells inclusive; asymmetry is the rule, symmetry--if it exists at all--the exception. 9. Differences in several plasma membrane proteins (receptors, ion transporting molecules, cell adhesion molecules and signal transducing systems) are not only causally related to differential transcellular transport but also indirectly to differential protein synthesis and hence to differentiation. There are already a few well documented examples of "electrical" control of gene expression. 10. The major "strategy" which applies in differentiation seems to be to keep the genome constant but to change over and over its ionic and macromolecular environment, both acting in a complementary way. The first one may be considered as the coarse tuning mechanism of gene expression-protein synthesis, the second as the fine one. In our opinion this might be a principle universal to differentiation processes in all animal species.

Freeze-fracture cytochemistry: a simplified guide and update on developments

A wide variety of methods by which cytochemistry and freeze-fracture can be successfully combined have recently become available. All these techniques are designed to provide information on the chemical nature of structural components revealed by freeze-fracture, but differ in how this is achieved, in precisely what type of information is obtained, and in which types of specimen can be studied. Colloidal gold labelling is the most widely used cytochemical technique in freeze-fracture cytochemistry, and for many of the methods it is indispensable. In principle, there are four points in which the cytochemical labelling step may be integrated into the standard freeze-fracture procedure: (i) before the specimen has been frozen, (ii) after it has been fractured and thawed, (iii) after platinum shadowing or (iv) after completion of the full replication sequence. Retention of the gold label so that it can be viewed with replicas can be achieved by depositing platinum and/or carbon upon the labelled surface, thereby partially entrapping the marker particles within the replica, or by retaining, attached to the replica, fragments of fractured membrane (or other cellular components) that would normally have been lost during the replica cleaning step. Another approach to visualizing the label is to use sections, either with portions of a replica included face-on, or for examining the fracture path through the sample (without replica). Recent developments have centered on the use of replicas to stabilize half-membrane leaflets; not only may these and associated attached components be retained for labelling just before mounting, but they provide a means for manipulating the specimen--specifically, turning it over during processing--so that additional structural information can be obtained. This article aims to explain how modern freeze-fracture cytochemistry works, and how the various techniques differ in what they can tell us about membranes and other cellular structures. With the effectiveness of many of the techniques now demonstrated, freeze-fracture cytochemistry is firmly established, alongside a range of related labelling techniques, for increasing application in cell and membrane biology in the 1990s.

Freeze-fracture cytochemistry: review of methods

"Freeze-fracture cytochemistry" encompasses a diversity of recently developed techniques in which freeze-fracture and cytochemistry are combined. Cytochemical labeling may, in principle, be integrated into one of three basic points in the standard freeze-fracture procedure; 1) before the specimen is frozen, 2) after it has been fractured, or 3) after it has been platinum shadowed and/or carbon coated. Visualization of the labeled cellular structures can be achieved by a variety of different methodologies. For example, the markers (usually colloidal gold particles) may be viewed embedded within a replica, or attached to it via fragments of membrane (or other cellular components). Sectioning is a central strategy in a number of techniques, either in combination with or in place of replication. The different combinations of methods that have been devised are not, for the most part, alternative ways of arriving at the same result; each provides quite distinct information about specific classes of membrane component or other structure in the cell. The purpose of this review is to present, within a single article, a systematic survey of the full range of techniques currently available in freeze-fracture cytochemistry. Emphasis is placed on explaining the principles underlying the methods and on illustrating their applications. With the success recently achieved, freeze-fracture cytochemistry has moved from the phase of experimental development to a position in which it may be expected increasingly to make significant contributions across a wide spectrum of problems in cell and membrane biology.

Localization of Epstein-Barr virus envelope glycoproteins on the inner nuclear membrane of virus-producing cells

Epstein-Barr virus-producing cells were used as a model to analyze, with a fracture-immunolabel technique, the distribution, behavior on fracture, and extent of glycosylation of viral transmembrane glycoproteins at the inner nuclear membrane. Surface and fracture immunolabeling with two monoclonal antibodies directed against the carbohydrate or polypeptide portions of the major viral envelope glycoproteins gp350/220 showed the following. (i) The glycoproteins present on the inner and outer nuclear membranes were labeled only with the monoclonal antibody directed against the polypeptide chain, whereas over the surface of virus-producing cells and on mature virions the labeling was dense and uniformly distributed with both monoclonal antibodies. (ii) The glycoproteins were nonuniformly distributed only over the inner nuclear membranes; at the sites of viral budding, the glycoproteins showed a preferential partition with the protoplasmic face. Since fully glycosylated glycoproteins were not present on the nuclear membranes, our observations support the proposed model of herpesvirus maturation. The peculiar distribution and partition on fracture of the envelope glycoproteins on the inner nuclear membrane are similar to those of Sindbis virus envelope glycoproteins on the plasma membrane of infected cells. Therefore, our results suggest that inner nuclear membranes may behave like plasma membranes during viral assembly.

Strategy and tactics in electron microscopy of cell surfaces

Over the past decade new methods have been developed to visualize both the external and the protoplasmic surfaces of cultured cells in the electron microscope. In this review the emphasis is on cell monolayers, though some of the techniques are also applicable to cells in suspension. There is no universal method which would satisfy all our requirements i.e. the preservation of native structure and antigenicity and the visualization of the whole cell surface at high resolution. While surface replicas of freeze-dried or critical point-dried cells are eminently suited for high resolution studies including gold immunolabelling, scanning electron microscopy provides a view of the whole cell and a large sample for 'statistical' evaluation. Whole mount preparations of cleaved cells prove useful in studies of plasma membrane associated structures such as the cytoskeleton. A series of new procedures have been developed for studies of cytoskeleton/membrane interactions, identification of intramembrane particles and their contacts with the glycocalyx, to mention some of the biological problems. Although the lysis-squirting technique appears most suitable for the visualization and immunolabelling of protoplasmic surfaces of ventral membranes, dry- or wet-cleaving represent a useful alternative for studies of the protoplasmic surfaces of dorsal membranes and of the ventral membrane associated cytoplasmic domains. An assessment of the methods is given though this should only serve as guidance and it is up to the experimentor to choose the most useful technique for the project under study. Briefly the aim of the project determines the choice of the method. A multi-methodical approach is recommended when one method does not provide satisfactory results.

Free diffusion to and from the inner nuclear membrane of newly synthesized plasma membrane glycoproteins

Sindbis virus-infected baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells were analyzed by thin section fracture-label. Specific immunolabel with antiviral glycoprotein antibodies was used in conjunction with colloidal gold-conjugated protein A. As we previously reported (Torrisi, M. R., and S. Bonatti, 1985, J. Cell Biol., 101:1300-1306), Sindbis transmembrane glycoproteins are present in the inner nuclear membrane as well as in the outer nuclear membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi stacks and vesicles, and plasma membranes. Viral glycoproteins located on the inner nuclear membrane resemble those present on the outer membrane in terms of amount, distribution, and preferential partition after fracture. We show in this paper that Sindbis glycoproteins after treatment with cycloheximide are removed from the inner nuclear membrane with the same kinetics as their counterparts present on the outer membrane. This finding strongly suggests that newly synthesized transmembrane glycoproteins may freely diffuse to and from the inner nuclear membrane before entering into the intracellular transport pathway to the plasma membrane.

Preferential association of glycoproteins to the euchromatin regions of cross-fractured nuclei is revealed by fracture-label

We used fracture-label to establish ultrastructural localization of glycoproteins in cross-fractured nuclei of duodenal columnar and exocrine pancreatic cells. Mannose residues were detected in cell nuclei by labeling freeze-fractured tissues with concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase X colloidal gold (Con A-HRP X CG) or direct concanavalin A X colloidal gold (Con A X CG); fucose residues were detected with Ulex Europaeus I X colloidal gold (UEA I X CG) markers. Areas of the three main intranuclear compartments (euchromatin, heterochromatin, and nucleolus) exposed by freeze-fracture were determined by automated image analysis. Colloidal gold particles bound to each nuclear subcompartment were counted and the results expressed in number of colloidal gold particles per square micrometer +/- SEM. Duodenal and pancreatic tissues fractured and labeled with Con A-HRP X CG complex or direct Con A X CG conjugates showed that the vast majority of Con A binding sites was confined to euchromatin regions with only sparse labeling of the heterochromatin and nucleolus. UEA I labeling of duodenal columnar cells showed that colloidal gold particles were almost exclusively confined to cross-fractured areas where euchromatin is exposed. Trypsinization of the fractured tissues before labeling with Con A and UEA I abolished 95-100% of the original label. Our results show that, within the nucleoplasm, mannose and fucose are residues of glycoproteins preferentially located within the regions of euchromatin.

Lysosomes in the cessation of vitellogenin secretion by the mosquito fat body; selective degradation of Golgi complexes and secretory granules

A massive and selective degradation of Golgi complexes, secretory granules, and RER is the mechanism responsible for the rapid termination of Vg secretion by trophocytes of the mosquito fat body. These cells are involved in an intensive synthesis of a glycoprotein, vitellogenin (Vg), which is accumulated by developing oocytes as yolk protein. Previously, assays for lysosomal enzymes have demonstrated that the cessation of Vg synthesis is characterized by a sharp increase in lysosomal activity; and fluorescent microscopy has shown that, during this intense lysosomal activity, Vg concentrates in lysosomes. In this report, electron microscopy combined with cytochemistry for lysosomal enzymes and localization of Vg with colloidal gold immunocytochemistry has shown that this lysosomal activity is directed towards selective degradation of Vg and organelles associated with its synthesis and secretion. Three organelles undergo lysosomal breakdown: the Golgi complex, Vg-containing secretory granules, and RER. The degradation of Golgi complexes occurs in two steps similar to that for RER: first, the organelle is sequestered by double isolation membranes, and the resulting pre-lysosome then fuses with a primary or secondary lysosome. In contrast, mature Vg-containing secretory granules fuse with lysosomes directly. This combination of crino- and autophagy is a specific, highly intense, and precisely timed event.

Lectin-binding pattern in parotid acinar cells. The fracture-labelling method and post-embedding staining

The localization of complex carbohydrates in the Golgi apparatus, secretory granules and plasmalemma of mouse parotid acinar cells was studied using the fracture-labelling method. The hexose residues of glycoconjugates were identified using ferritin conjugated with Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA-), Ricinnus Communis Agglutinin II (RCA-II-), Phaseolus Vulgaris Agglutinin (PHA-) and Limulus Polyphemus Agglutinin (LPA-). We found that the fracture-labelling method allows not only the labelling of membrane faces but also analysis of the compartment's content that is exposed during the fracturing of the tissue. Our results revealed differences in the hexose residues located in the Golgi apparatus, secretory granules and the apical and lateral plasmalemma. Numerous binding sites for WGA-, PHA- and RCA-II-ferritin were demonstrable in the Golgi apparatus. In secretory granules, the WGA- and RCA-II-ferritin binding sites were most numerous, while LPA-ferritin binding sites were very rare. The density of the binding sites for PHA-ferritin showed considerable variation in secretory granules. The apical plasmalemma exhibited a high density of binding sites for all of the lectins used. In the lateral plasmalemma, LPA-ferritin was not bound, and there were fewer binding sites for WGA-, RCA-II- and PHA-ferritin.

Binding of lectin-fluorescein conjugates to intracellular compartments of growth-plate chondrocytes in situ

In this study, lectin-binding techniques are applied to growth-plate cartilage to analyze the intracellular localization of lectin-binding glycoconjugates of chondrocytes in situ. The binding of ten fluorescein-conjugated lectins is analyzed on 1-micron-thick Epon-embedded, nondecalcified sections of growth plates from Yucatan swine. Comparisons are made to intracellular binding in chondrocytes of tracheal, articular, and auricular cartilage. Ear epithelium, tracheal epithelium, and kidney are used as positive control tissues for the specificity of lectin binding. Only the mannose-binding lectins had affinity for the RER and nuclear envelope. Eight lectins reacted within the Golgi complex with characteristic patterns which ranged from localized fine linear strands to extensive vesicular accumulations. When cartilage slabs were exposed before embedment to the ionophore monensin to disrupt intracellular transport through the Golgi, it was possible to define differential subcompartments of the Golgi complex, based upon sites of sugar addition. Also, it was possible to characterize the cytoplasmic deposits of reserve-zone chondrocytes which were positive with concanavalin A as glycogen, based upon their sensitivity to amylase. This method allows resolution at the light-microscopic level of lectin-binding glycoconjugates with localization to specific organelles. Patterns of intracellular binding were consistent with biochemical data relating to the subcellular localization of processing steps of complex carbohydrates prior to secretion.

Immunocytochemical study of the partition and distribution of Sindbis virus glycoproteins in freeze-fractured membranes of infected baby hamster kidney cells

Sindbis virus-infected baby hamster kidney cells were analyzed by thin section fracture-label. Specific immunolabel with antiviral glycoprotein antibodies or with conventional lectin label (wheat germ agglutinin) were used in conjunction with colloidal gold-conjugated protein A or ovomucoid, respectively. In addition, intact infected cells were analyzed with both labeling procedures. Experiments with Sindbis infected-chick embryo fibroblast cells were carried out as controls. Viral transmembrane glycoproteins appeared present in freeze-fractured inner and outer nuclear membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi stacks and vesicles, and plasma membranes; a clear preferential partition with the exoplasmic faces of all intracellular membranes was observed. By contrast, at the plasma membrane level, Sindbis glycoproteins were found to partition preferentially with the protoplasmic face. It seems likely that this protoplasmic partition is related to the binding with the nucleocapsid that takes place during the budding of the virus. At the cell surface, viral glycoproteins always appeared clustered and were predominantly associated with budding figures: moreover, large portions of the plasma membrane were devoid of both glycoproteins and budding viruses.

The acrosomal membrane of boar sperm: a Golgi-derived membrane poor in glycoconjugates

The acrosome is a large secretory vesicle of the sperm head that carries enzymes responsible for the digestion of the oocyte's investments. The event leads to sperm penetration and allows fertilization to occur. Release of the acrosomal enzymes is mediated by the interaction between sperm acrosomal and plasma membranes (acrosome reaction). Biochemical characterization of the acrosomal membrane has been restrained by a lack of methods to isolate uncontaminated fractions of the membrane. Here, we use new methods to expose the membrane to in situ cytochemical labeling by lectin-gold complexes. We study the topology and relative density of glycoconjugates both across and along the plane of the acrosomal membrane of boar sperm. Detachment of the plasma membrane from glutaraldehyde-fixed cells exposed the cytoplasmic surface of the acrosome to the lectin markers; freeze-fractured halves of the acrosomal membrane were marked by "fracture-label" (Aguas, A. P., and P. Pinto da Silva, 1983, J. Cell Biol. 97:1356-1364). We show that the cytoplasmic surface of the intact acrosome is devoid of binding sites for both concanavalin A (Con A) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). By contrast, it contains a high density of neuraminidase-resistant anionic sites detected by cationic ferritin. On freeze-fractured sperm, the receptors for Con A partitioned with the exoplasmic membrane half of the acrosomal membrane. The Con A-binding glycoconjugates were accumulated on the equatorial segment of the membrane. A low density of WGA receptors, as well as of intramembrane particles, was found on the freeze-fracture halves of the acrosomal membrane. The plasma membrane displayed, in the same preparations, a high density of receptors for both Con A and WGA. We conclude that the acrosome is limited by a membrane poor in glycoconjugates, which are exclusively exposed on the exoplasmic side of the bilayer. Regionalization of Con A receptors on the acrosome shows that sperm intracellular membranes, like the sperm surface, express domain distribution of glycocomponents.

Evidence for post-translational glycosylation of a nonglycosylated precursor protein of herpes simplex virus type 1

Incubation of herpes simplex virus type 1-infected Vero and HEp-2 cells at a reduced temperature (34 degrees C) enhanced the detection of the nonglycosylated precursors (pgB97 and pgC75) to the gB and gC glycoproteins in the cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions. Relative to the fully glycosylated and high-mannose forms detected, the nonglycosylated precursors were the predominant components associated with the nuclear fraction of infected cells. Furthermore, addition of protease inhibitors to the fractionation buffers did not affect the distribution or abundance of the nonglycosylated precursors, suggesting that the presence of pgB97 and pgC75 was not the result of proteolysis. When infected Vero or HEp-2 cells were harvested at various times postinfection, the nonglycosylated precursors were detected after the initial appearance of the high mannose components (pgB110 and pgC105). In Vero cells, pgB97 and pgC75 were detected simultaneously at 8 h postinfection, whereas detection was not apparent in HEp-2 cells until 20 h postinfection. Conditions which favored detection of appreciable amounts of nonglycosylated precursors provided an unique approach to probe possible post-translational modifications in the absence of inhibitors of glycosylation. In nuclear fractions isolated from cycloheximide-treated HEp-2 or Vero cells, numerous discrete gC-immunoreactive bands migrating with decreased electrophoretic mobility relative to the nonglycosylated precursor pgC75 were observed. This series of one to four additional bands was eliminated by digestion with endoglycosidase H, and the appearance of these bands was blocked by the addition of tunicamycin. Collectively, the data suggest that high-mannose core oligosaccharides may be added to the nonglycosylated precursor of the gC glycoprotein of herpes simplex virus type 1 in a post-translational fashion.

Label-fracture: a method for high resolution labeling of cell surfaces

We introduce here a technique, "label-fracture," that allows the observation of the distribution of a cytochemical label on a cell surface. Cell surfaces labeled with an electron-dense marker (colloidal gold) are freeze-fractured and the fracture faces are replicated by plantinum/carbon evaporation. The exoplasmic halves of the membrane, apparently stabilized by the deposition of the Pt/C replica, are washed in distilled water. The new method reveals the surface distribution of the label coincident with the Pt/C replica of the exoplasmic fracture face. Initial applications indicate high resolution (less than or equal to 15 nm) and exceedingly low background. "Label-fracture" provides extensive views of the distribution of the label on membrane surfaces while preserving cell shape and relating to the freeze-fracture morphology of exoplasmic fracture faces. The regionalization of wheat germ agglutinin receptors on the plasma membranes of boar sperm cells is illustrated. The method and the interpretation of its results are straightforward. Label-fracture is appropriate for routine use as a surface labeling technique.