Volume 52 (1): 77-86, 2004 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. High-pressure Freezing of Isolated Gastric Glands Provides New Insight into the Fine Structure and Subcellular Localization of H+/K+-ATPase in Gastric Parietal Cells
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology (AS,JGF) and Electron Microscopy Lab (KLM), University of California, Berkeley, California Correspondence to: Prof. John G. Forte, Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, 241 LSA, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200. E-mail: jforte{at}uclink.berkeley.edu
High-pressure freezing (HPF) is currently the most reliable method to obtain an adequately frozen sample for high-resolution morphological evaluation. Here we applied the HPF technique to isolated rabbit gastric glands to reveal structural evidence that may be correlated with functional activity of gastric parietal cells. This approach provided well-preserved fine structure and excellent antigenicity of several parietal cell proteins. Microtubules were abundant in the cytoplasm and frequently appeared to be associating with tubulovesicles. Interestingly, many electron-dense coated vesicles were apparent around the intracellular canaliculi (IC) of resting parietal cells, consistent with active membrane retrieval from the apical membranes. Immunolabeling of H+/K+-ATPase was evident on the endocytic components (e.g., multivesicular bodies) and tubulovesicles. After histamine stimulation, the parietal cells characteristically showed expanded IC membranes with varied features of their apical microvilli. The labeling density of H+/K+-ATPase was four-fold higher on the IC membrane of stimulated parietal cells than on that of resting parietal cells. Immunolabeling of ezrin was clearly identified on the IC and basolateral membranes of parietal cells, corresponding to their F-actin-rich sites. The present findings provide a new insight into the correlation of cell structure and function in gastric parietal cells. (J Histochem Cytochem 52:7786, 2004)
Key Words: high-pressure freezing electron microscopy isolated gastric gland parietal cell transformation immunogold labeling H+/K+-ATPase ezrin
CRYOFIXATION is generally accepted as the best initial fixation step to provide superior preservation of cell and tissue ultrastructure. High-pressure freezing (HPF) followed by freeze-substitution is currently the most reliable method to obtain a high yield of adequately frozen samples (Moor 1987
Gastric parietal cells undergo morphological transformations in response to stimulation of acid secretion. Correlation of parietal cell structure and function was facilitated by the establishment of isolated gastric glands (Berglindh and Öbrink 1976
The gastric proton pump, also known as the H+/K+-ATPase, is the major cargo protein of tubulovesicles in parietal cells. On the basis of membrane recruitment and recycling hypothesis, it is now generally accepted that the H+/K+-ATPase-rich tubulovesicles are recruited by fusion to the apical membrane on stimulation and then recycled back to the cytoplasm on return to the resting state (Forte et al. 1977
Recently, we introduced a procedure using poly-L-lysine-coated aluminum planchettes for direct attachment and HPF of isolated gastric glands in defined physiological states (Sawaguchi et al. in press
High-pressure Freezing of Isolated Gastric Glands Gastric glands were isolated from gastric mucosa of New Zealand White rabbits as previously described (Ammar et al. 2002
Freeze-substitution and Embedding For immunolabeling of ezrin, freeze-substitution was carried out in pure acetone. After programmed warming from -155C to -90C at 5C/hr, samples were kept at -90C for 3 days and then gradually warmed to -35C at 10C/hr. The substitution medium was replaced with pure ethanol (three changes each of 10-min duration) and infiltrated directly with 100% Lowicryl HM20 for 2 hr at -35C. The polymerization was performed using an ultraviolet lamp of the AFS machine for 24 hr at -35C and for a further 8 hr at 18C.
Immunolabeling of H+/K+-ATPase and Ezrin
For immunolabeling of ezrin, ultrathin sections of Lowicryl HM20-embedded glands were used. Sections were incubated in 2% BSA in PBS for 10 min and then incubated with a mouse monoclonal antibody, 4A5, against ezrin (Hanzel et al. 1989
Quantification of Immunolabeling
Resting Parietal Cells in Cimetidine-treated Gastric Glands Most of the parietal cells were morphologically in the resting state in cimetidine-treated gastric glands, characterized by narrow IC and numerous tubulovesicles (Figures 1A and 1B) . In the cytoplasm, many microtubules were clearly observed, some of which appeared to be associating with tubulovesicles (Figures 1C and 1D). As previously noted in cultured parietal cells (Sawaguchi et al. 2002b
At the base region of the glands, exocytosed zymogenic contents were observed as electron-dense droplets in the glandular lumen (Figure 2A ; Sawaguchi et al. 2002a
Stimulated Parietal Cells in Histamine-treated Gastric Glands To evaluate the effectiveness of histamine stimulation, we performed the AP uptake assay in the same preparations of isolated gastric glands as were used for HPF. The AP accumulation ratio is expressed as the ratio of intracellular to extracellular concentration of AP ± SE, and is an estimate of acid accumulation by the glands (Berglindh 1990 Histamine-stimulated parietal cells prepared for electron microscopy exhibited an expansion of the IC that was readily visible at the light microscopic level (Figures 3A and 3B) . Some histamine-stimulated glands also exhibited expanded glandular lumens (Figure 3B). At the electron microscopic level, the features of expanded IC varied as follows: (a) moderately expanded IC lined with many long microvilli (Figure 3C); (b) highly expanded IC lined with many microvilli (Figure 3D); (c) extraordinarily expanded IC lined with few microvilli (Figure 3E). Interestingly, stimulated parietal cells with the extraordinarily expanded IC showed a smooth basolateral surface devoid of surface folds.
Subcellular Localization of H+/K+-ATPase Well-preserved antigenicity enabled H+/K+-ATPase labeling even in the osmicated Epon-embedded samples. Consequently, the well-defined morphology helped us to clarify a precise localization of the H+/K+-ATPase. In resting parietal cells, H+/K+-ATPase labeling was clearly evident on tubulovesicular membranes (Figure 4B) as well as on the Golgi apparatus and throughout the cis- to trans-Golgi (Figure 4A). It should be noted that the microvesicles apparent within the tubulovesicles were specifically labeled for H+/K+-ATPase (Figure 4B, inset). In addition, the H+/K+-ATPase labeling was seen on diverging tubulovesicles (Figure 4C) and on more complicated structures such as concentric multi-laminae (Figure 4D).
The presence of H+/K+-ATPase was demonstrated on various endocytic components within parietal cells, such as the electron-dense coated vesicles (Figure 4E) and MVBs (Figure 4F). On the MVBs, most of the H+/K+-ATPase labeling was present on the inner vesicles and was rarely seen on the outer limiting membrane of the organelles. In addition, the small dense vesicles that abound throughout the cytoplasm were specifically labeled for the H+/K+-ATPase. Figure 4G depicts the H+/K+-ATPase labeling on a dense MVB whose inner vesicles were highly condensed. In cimetidine-treated glands, H+/K+-ATPase labeling was almost always observed on the apical microvillar membranes of IC. However, the labeling density did not appear as intense as on tubulovesicles (Figure 5A). In the resting state, we also occasionally found H+/K+-ATPase labeling on an occluded IC whose microvilli were closely packed as shown in Figure 5B. After stimulation by histamine, the IC plasma membrane was intensely labeled for H+/K+-ATPase (Figure 5C). Furthermore, as expected, the smooth surface of extraordinarily expanded IC was also specifically labeled for H+/K+-ATPase (Figure 5D). Because of the retained antigenicity of the morphologically superior Epon-embedded, osmicated samples, we were able to carry out a quantitative comparison of the labeling densities of membrane compartments in the resting and stimulated states. The data in Table 1 compare the relative labeling of the two primary H+/K+-ATPase-rich membrane compartments in resting and stimulated parietal cells. The labeling density of tubulovesicles of resting cells was approximately the same as for the remnant tubulovesicles of stimulated cells. However, the labeling density of H+/K+-ATPase was fourfold higher on the IC plasma membrane of stimulated parietal cells compared to that of resting cells.
Subcellular Localization of Ezrin in Parietal Cells Immunolabeling of ezrin did not survive osmication and Epon embedding. To preserve the sensitive antigenicity of ezrin, freeze-substitution was carried out in pure acetone without fixative, followed by low-temperature Lowicryl HM20 embedding (see Materials and Methods). Although the morphological representation of Lowicryl embedded samples was not as good as Epon it was superior to that obtained with LR White in parietal cells (Okamoto et al. 2000
We have described the fine structure and subcellular localization of H+/K+-ATPase and ezrin in rabbit gastric parietal cells processed by HPF/freeze substitution. The use of poly-L-lysine for direct attachment to aluminum planchettes provided a high yield of adequately frozen isolated gastric glands and enabled us to examine parietal cells free from ice crystal damage. The deep vitreous freezing permitted cryoimmobilization not only of the epithelial cells but also of the intraluminal fluid contents in the gastric glands. The present results ensure that HPF of isolated gastric glands will be a useful model to elucidate the structural evidence that can be correlated to functional activity of the glands.
In cimetidine-treated glands, resting parietal cells showed abundant tubulovesicles in the cytoplasm. Pettitt et al. (1995)
Ogata and Yamasaki (2000)
Several structural features are much more readily apparent in parietal cells prepared by HPF than by conventional fixation methods, especially microtubules and the variety of small vesicular elements that may be associated with membrane recycling. Although microtubules have been identified and even implicated in parietal cell function (Kasbekar and Gordon 1979
Stimulation-associated volume expansions have been previously observed in the internalized apical membrane vacuoles of cultured parietal cells (Chew et al. 1989
The present study demonstrated that the labeling density of H+/K+-ATPase was fourfold higher on the IC membrane of stimulated parietal cells than that of resting parietal cells. By contrast, the labeling density was approximately the same on tubulovesicles of resting and stimulated cells. These results were consistent with the previous work of Scott et al. (1993)
The present study clearly demonstrated H+/K+-ATPase in a variety of endocytic components, such as the electron-dense coated vesicles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating H+/K+-ATPase in the MVBs. Based on current knowledge of the endocytic pathway, the H+/K+-ATPase might be retrieved from the apical membrane and transported into an early endosome that differentiates into the MVB. In this study, small dense vesicles with the H+/K+-ATPase were frequently seen around the MVB, implying a role for these vesicles as an H+/K+-ATPase carrier to the endosomes. To date, however, little is known about the fate of the internalized proteins in the MVBs as to whether they will be degraded or recycled back (reviewed by Piper and Luzio 2001
In cimetidine-treated glands, we occasionally found occluded IC whose microvilli were in close contact with one another. Similar structures have previously been reported in the recovering state (i.e., from secreting to resting) of piglet parietal cells after withdrawal of histamine (Forte et al. 1977
The exocytosed zymogenic contents showed a droplet-like appearance in the glandular lumen of isolated rabbit gastric glands, consistent with previous observations of in vivo rat gastric glands (Sawaguchi et al. 2002a
The combined use of HPF/acetone freeze-substitution and low-temperature embedding has improved the subcellular localization of ezrin in gastric parietal cells. The use of absolute acetone as freeze-substitution medium preserved satisfactory morphology as well as antigenicity, even without any fixative. As a result, the present study demonstrates the precise localization of ezrin in gastric parietal cells. Ezrin has been implicated as a cytoskeletonmembrane linker protein and is co-localized with ß-actin in the parietal cell (Yao et al. 1995 In conclusion, application of the HPF technique provided the excellent ultrastructure and antigenicity of the parietal cells in isolated rabbit gastric glands. The ultrastructure was also excellent in other cell types, such as the mucous cells and the chief cells. Isolated gastric glands have been an outstanding experimental model for studies of gastric secretion because their physiological and biochemical functions can be conveniently regulated and monitored. Therefore, it is highly anticipated that the HPF of isolated gastric glands will be a powerful tool to correlate cell structure and immunohistochemical localization with functional activity of the glands.
Supported by NIH Grants DK10141 and DK38972. We thank Reena Zalpuri, Serhan Karvar, David A. Ammar, Rihong Zhou, Waylan Wong, and Jennifer Su for assistance with experimental procedures.
Received for publication June 25, 2003; accepted September 3, 2003
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