host posted on January 16, 2011 20:19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A team led by Dr. Toshiyuki Murai (Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University) and Dr. Chikara Sato (Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), published research obtained using JEOL’s ClairScope™ (JASM-6200) in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC).
Various labeling antibodies used for fluorescence optical microscopy can also be directly used with the ClairScope™, enabling the observation of cells in a water environment at a higher resolution than is possible in optical microscopy, while preserving antigenicity. In this paper, CD44, a cell-surface protein involved in cancer metastasis, was simultaneously labeled for optical and electron microscopy, and its distribution at the cell surface was determined with the ClairScope™ at high resolution. It was shown that the addition of the drug MβCD to the culture medium affects the distribution of the CD44 protein.
[ THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY ]
J. Biol. Chem. Vol.286, No.3, pp.1999-2007, January 21, 2011
Overview: immuno-electron microscopy in solution using the ClairScope™ shows the distribution of the carbohydrate receptor CD44.
CD44 is a transmembrane receptor for extracellular carbohydrates, and plays an important role in the cell migration of a fertilized egg (ontogeny), and also in cancer metastasis. Gold labeling of fixed cells, using an antibody that recognizes CD44 from outside the cell, reveals clusters of gold particles indicating the precise location of CD44. Separately, cells were treated before fixation with a cholesterol-binding agent, MβCD, that loosened the cholesterol foundation of clustered protein structures in the membrane (raft structures). CD44 released from the raft was found to be concentrated at microscopic protrusions on the cell periphery. These results could lead to future therapies for cancers.
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