ISSN:
0003-276X
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Heavy meromyosin (HMM) labeling was used to identify the nature of the filaments which form bundles in the cytoplasm of the pericytes in brain tissue. Rat brain tissue pieces were incubated in glycerol solutions at 4°, and then transferred into buffer (pH 7.0), (1) without HMM, (2) with HMM, (3) with HMM + 5 mM ATP, and (4) with HMM + 2.5 mM Na+ pyrophosphate. In pericytes from untreated tissue, smooth-surfaced microfilaments, averaging 6 nm in diameter, appear to branch and anastomose and to anchor on the plasma membrane. After exposure to HMM, the number and the density of the microfilaments are strikingly increased. These tightly-packed microfilaments are now heavily coated with exogenous HMM thus increasing in width to 18-20 mm. They intertwine in closely-woven networks. After incubation in HMM solutions containing ATP or Na+ prophosphate, they are no longer coated with thick sidearms. It can thus be concluded that these microfilaments are of actin-like nature. In addition, after incubation in ATP, they are intermingled with, and converge onto the surfaces of, thick, tapered filaments, which we have tentatively identified as of myosin-like nature. Thus, it appears that certain of the major elements necessary for contraction are present in brain pericytes.
Additional Material:
10 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.1091900404
