scholarly journals The MATCHIT Automaton: Exploiting Compartmentalization for the Synthesis of Branched Polymers

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias S. Weyland ◽  
Harold Fellermann ◽  
Maik Hadorn ◽  
Daniel Sorek ◽  
Doron Lancet ◽  
...  

We propose an automaton, a theoretical framework that demonstrates how to improve the yield of the synthesis of branched chemical polymer reactions. This is achieved by separating substeps of the path of synthesis into compartments. We use chemical containers (chemtainers) to carry the substances through a sequence of fixed successive compartments. We describe the automaton in mathematical terms and show how it can be configured automatically in order to synthesize a given branched polymer target. The algorithm we present finds an optimal path of synthesis in linear time. We discuss how the automaton models compartmentalized structures found in cells, such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus, and we show how this compartmentalization can be exploited for the synthesis of branched polymers such as oligosaccharides. Lastly, we show examples of artificial branched polymers and discuss how the automaton can be configured to synthesize them with maximal yield.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 1101-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
A A Rogalski ◽  
J E Bergmann ◽  
S J Singer

We studied the effects of changes in microtubule assembly status upon the intracellular transport of an integral membrane protein from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane. The protein was the G glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus in cells infected with the Orsay-45 temperature-sensitive mutant of the virus; the synchronous intracellular transport of the G protein could be initiated by a temperature shift-down protocol. The intracellular and surface-expressed G protein were separately detected and localized in the same cells at different times after the temperature shift, by double-immunofluorescence microscopic measurements, and the extent of sialylation of the G protein at different times was quantitated by immunoprecipitation and SDS PAGE of [35S]methionine-labeled cell extracts. Neither complete disassembly of the cytoplasmic microtubules by nocodazole treatment, nor the radical reorganization of microtubules upon taxol treatment, led to any perceptible changes in the rate or extent of G protein sialylation, nor to any marked changes in the rate or extent of surface appearance of the G protein. However, whereas in control cells the surface expression of G was polarized, at membrane regions in juxtaposition to the perinuclear compact Golgi apparatus, in cells with disassembled microtubules the surface expression of the G protein was uniform, corresponding to the intracellular dispersal of the elements of the Golgi apparatus. The mechanisms of transfer of integral proteins from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus, and from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane, are discussed in the light of these observations, and compared with earlier studies of the intracellular transport of secretory proteins.


2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (20) ◽  
pp. 3685-3694
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Graves ◽  
Shilpa Patel ◽  
Priscilla S. Dannies ◽  
Patricia M. Hinkle

In some individuals with autosomal dominant isolated growth hormone deficiency, one copy of growth hormone lacks amino acids 32-71 and is severely misfolded. We transfected COS7 cells with either wild-type human growth hormone or Δ32-71 growth hormone and investigated subcellular localization of growth hormone and other proteins. Δ32-71 growth hormone was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, whereas wild-type hormone accumulated in the Golgi apparatus. When cells transfected with wild-type or Δ32-71 growth hormone were dually stained for growth hormone and the Golgi markers β-COP, membrin or 58K, wild-type growth hormone was colocalized with the Golgi markers, but β-COP, membrin and 58K immunoreactivity was highly dispersed or undetectable in cells expressing Δ32-71 growth hormone. Examination of α-tubulin immunostaining showed that the cytoplasmic microtubular arrangement was normal in cells expressing wild-type growth hormone, but microtubule-organizing centers were absent in nearly all cells expressing Δ32-71 growth hormone. To determine whether Δ32-71 growth hormone would alter trafficking of a plasma membrane protein, we cotransfected the cells with the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor and either wild-type or Δ32-71 growth hormone. Cells expressing Δ32-71 growth hormone, unlike those expressing wild-type growth hormone, failed to show normal TRH receptor localization or binding. Expression of Δ32-71 growth hormone also disrupted the trafficking of two secretory proteins, prolactin and secreted alkaline phosphatase. Δ32-71 growth hormone only weakly elicited the unfolded protein response as indicated by induction of BiP mRNA. Pharmacological induction of the unfolded protein response partially prevented deletion mutant-induced Golgi fragmentation and partially restored normal TRH receptor trafficking. The ability of some misfolded proteins to block endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi traffic may explain their toxic effects on host cells and suggests possible strategies for therapeutic interventions.


1968 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Flickinger

The dependence of cytoplasmic membranes upon the nucleus was studied by examining enucleated amebae with the electron microscope at intervals up to 1 wk after enucleation. Amebae were cut into two approximately equal parts, and the fine structure of the enucleated portions was compared with that of the nucleated parts and starved whole cells which had been maintained under the same conditions. Golgi bodies were diminished in size 1 day after enucleation and were not detected in cells enucleated for more than 2 days. The endoplasmic reticulum of enucleated cells appeared to increase in amount and underwent changes in its morphology. The sparsely scattered short tubules of granular endoplasmic reticulum present in unmanipulated amebae from stock cultures were replaced in 1–3-day enucleates by long narrow cisternae. In 3–7-day enucleates, similar cisternae of granular endoplasmic reticulum encircled areas of cytoplasm partially or completely. It was estimated that in most cases hundreds of these areas encircled by two rough membranes were formed per enucleated cell. The number of ribosomes studding the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum decreased progressively with time after enucleation. In contrast, the membranes of nucleated parts and starved whole cells did not undergo these changes. The possible identification of membrane-encircled areas as cytolysomes and their mode of formation are considered. Implications of the observations regarding nuclear regulation of the form of the Golgi apparatus and the endoplasmic reticulum are discussed.


Author(s):  
S.R. Allegra

The respective roles of the ribo somes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and perhaps nucleus in the synthesis and maturation of melanosomes is still the subject of some controversy. While the early melanosomes (premelanosomes) have been frequently demonstrated to originate as Golgi vesicles, it is undeniable that these structures can be formed in cells in which Golgi system is not found. This report was prompted by the findings in an essentially amelanotic human cellular blue nevus (melanocytoma) of two distinct lines of melanocytes one of which was devoid of any trace of Golgi apparatus while the other had normal complement of this organelle.


Author(s):  
Sant S. Sekhon

Although there have been numerous studies concerning the morphogenetic changes accompanying the maturation of insect sperm, only a few deal with the sperm differentiation in the dragonflies. In two recent electron microscopic studies Kessel, has comprehensively treated the erlationship of microtubules to the nucleus and mid-piece structures during spermiogenesis in the dragonfly. The purpose of this study is to follow the sequential nuclear and cytoplasmic changes which accompany the differentiation of spermatogonium into a mature sperm during spermatogenesis in the dragonfly (Aeschna sp.).The dragonfly spermatogonia are characterized by large round nuclei. Loosely organized chromatin is usually unevenly distributed within the spermatogonial nuclei. The scant cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus contains mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus, elements of endoplasmic reticulum and numerous ribosomes (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
James R. Gaylor ◽  
Fredda Schafer ◽  
Robert E. Nordquist

Several theories on the origin of the melanosome exist. These include the Golgi origin theory, in which a tyrosinase-rich protein is "packaged" by the Golgi apparatus, thus forming the early form of the melanosome. A second theory postulates a mitochondrial origin of melanosomes. Its author contends that the melanosome is a modified mitochondria which acquires melanin during its development. A third theory states that a pre-melanosome is formed in the smooth or rough endoplasmic reticulum. Protein aggregation is suggested by one author as a possible source of the melanosome. This fourth theory postulates that the melanosome originates when the protein products of several genetic loci aggregate in the cytoplasm of the melanocyte. It is this protein matrix on which the melanin is deposited. It was with these theories in mind that this project was undertaken.


1985 ◽  
Vol 225 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Saermark ◽  
N Flint ◽  
W H Evans

Endosome fractions were isolated from rat liver homogenates on the basis of the subcellular distribution of circulating ligands, e.g. 125I-asialotransferrin internalized by hepatocytes by a receptor-mediated process. The distribution of endocytosed 125I-asialotransferrin 1-2 min and 15 min after uptake by liver and a monensin-activated Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity coincided on linear gradients of sucrose and Nycodenz. The monensin-activated Mg2+-ATPase was enriched relative to the liver homogenates up to 60-fold in specific activity in the endosome fractions. Contamination of the endosome fractions by lysosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membranes and Golgi-apparatus components was low. By use of 9-aminoacridine, a probe for pH gradients, the endosome vesicles were shown to acidify on addition of ATP. Acidification was reversed by addition of monensin. The results indicate that endosome fractions contain an ATP-driven proton pump. The ionophore-activated Mg2+-ATPase in combination with the presence of undegraded ligands in the endosome fractions emerge as linked markers for this new subcellular organelle.


1974 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvyn Weinstock ◽  
C. P. Leblond

The elaboration of dentin collagen precursors by the odontoblasts in the incisor teeth of 30–40-g rats was investigated by electron microscopy, histochemistry, and radioautography after intravenous injection of tritium-labeled proline. At 2 min after injection, when the labeling of blood proline was high, radioactivity was restricted to the rough endoplasmic reticulum, indicating that it is the site of synthesis of the polypeptide precursors of collagen, the pro-alpha chains. At 10 min, when the labeling of blood proline had already declined, radioactivity was observed in spherical portions of Golgi saccules containing entangled threads, and, at 20 min, radioactivity appeared in cylindrical portions containing aggregates of parallel threads. The parallel threads measured 280–350 nm in length and stained with the low pH-phosphotungstic acid technique for carbohydrate and with the silver methenamine technique for aldehydes (as did extracellular collagen fibrils). The passage of label from spherical to cylindrical Golgi portions is associated with the reorganization of entangled into parallel threads, which is interpreted as the packing of procollagen molecules. Between 20 and 30 min, prosecretory and secretory granules respectively became labeled. These results indicate that the cylindrical portions of Golgi saccules transform into prosecretory and subsequently into secretory granules. Within these granules, the parallel threads, believed to be procollagen molecules, are transported to the odontoblast process. At 90 min and 4 h after injection, label was present in predentin, indicating that the labeled content of secretory granules had been released into predentin. This occurred by exocytosis as evidenced by the presence of secretory granules in fusion with the plasmalemma of the odontoblast process. It is proposed that pro-alpha chains give rise to procollagen molecules which assemble into parallel aggregates in the Golgi apparatus. Procollagen molecules are then transported within secretory granules to the odontoblast process and released by exocytosis. In predentin procollagen molecules would give rise to tropocollagen molecules, which would then polymerize into collagen fibrils.


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