Direct observation of delta-crystallin accumulation by laser light-scattering spectroscopy in the chicken embryo lens

Caspase remodeling of the spectrin membrane skeleton during lens development and aging

Terminal differentiation of lens fiber cells resembles the apoptotic process in that organelles are lost, DNA is fragmented, and changes in membrane morphology occur. However, unlike classically apoptotic cells, which are disintegrated by membrane blebbing and vesiculation, aging lens fiber cells are compressed into the center of the lens, where they undergo cell-cell fusion and the formation of specialized membrane interdigitations. In classically apoptotic cells, caspase cleavage of the cytoskeletal protein alpha-spectrin to approximately 150-kDa fragments is believed to be important for membrane blebbing. We report that caspase(s) cleave alpha-spectrin to approximately 150-kDa fragments and beta-spectrin to approximately 120- and approximately 80-kDa fragments during late embryonic chick lens development. These fragments continue to accumulate with age so that in the oldest fiber cells of the adult lens, most, if not all, of the spectrin is cleaved to discrete fragments. Thus, unlike classical apoptosis, where caspase-cleaved spectrin is short lived, lens fiber cells contain spectrin fragments that appear to be stable for the lifetime of the organism. Moreover, fragmentation of spectrin results in reduced membrane association and thus may lead to permanent remodeling of the membrane skeleton. Partial and specific proteolysis of membrane skeleton components by caspases may be important for age-related membrane changes in the lens.

Particle motion in single acinar cells observed by microscope laser light scattering spectroscopy

We report here the direct observation of the motion of cytoplasmic subcellular organelles and macromolecules within single, metabolically active, pancreatic acinar cells using microscope laser-light scattering spectroscopy (MLLSS). The relative amount and the "effective diffusion coefficient" of the mobile particles shows a marked difference in magnitude between the apical and basal regions of the cell. Secretory stimulation evoked by the cholinergic agonist bethanechol induces changes in the relative motion in the cytoplasm of approximately one fifth of the acinar cells. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of a novel technique, MLLSS, for the analysis of intracellular events in regions as small as (2 micron)3 in single, granule secreting cells. It also shows MLLSS to be a powerful tool for the detection and measurement of altered motion in discrete subcellular regions of small mammalian cells after biochemical and pharmacological manipulations.

Quasi-elastic light scattering studies of membrane motion in single red blood cells

Studies of red blood cells (RBCs) and RBC ghosts, using a quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) microscope spectrometer, have identified the membrane as the primary source of the light scattering signal. This is the first report in which motion of the cell membrane has been demonstrated to be the primary source of the QELS signal from a cell. Cytoplasmic changes induced in the RBC by varying the osmotic strength of the medium were also detected using this technique. Comparison of the data from white blood cells (WBCs) with the RBC data demonstrated significant differences between different types of cells.

Accumulation and diffusion of crystallin inside single fiber cells in intact chicken embryo lenses

The use of microscope laser light-scattering spectroscopy allows for the measurement of dynamic properties of intracellular particles inside single fiber cells at different locations in the intact chicken embryo lens. Profiles of the diffusive properties of the delta-crystallin proteins across the lens are reported for developing chickens from day 5 to day 37. A clear decrease of the diffusion is observed in the lens nucleus relative to the cortex beginning with day 10.

In vivo measurement of the aging rabbit lens using quasielastic light scattering

We have been able to analyze the autocorrelation function of the light scattered from the rabbit lens in vivo in terms of a two component, exponential fit. We have measured the intensity and the decay rate associated with each of these two components as a function of age and position in the lens. As far as is possible we have interpreted these results in terms of molecular changes in the state of association of the protein constituents in the aging rabbit lens. These studies suggest that the method of quasielastic light scattering spectroscopy can provide a useful probe of the protein modifications that occur in both normal and cataractous human lenses.

Microscope laser light scattering spectroscopy of single biological cells

A microscope laser light scattering setup was developed, allowing us to do intensity autocorrelation spectroscopy on the light scattered from a volume as small as (2 micron)3. This non-invasive technique makes cytoplasmic studies possible inside single live biological cells. The effect of osmotic swelling and shrinking on the diffusion coefficient of hemoglobin inside intact red blood cells is shown as an illustrative example of the applicability and sensitivity of this new experimental method.