spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif Propose a workshop for 2011 spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online 29 May 2007
doi: 10.1242/jcs.007781

Journal of Cell Science 120, 2117-2125 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
jcs.007781v1
120/12/2117    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in JCS
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zenner, H. L.
Right arrow Articles by Cutler, D. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zenner, H. L.
Right arrow Articles by Cutler, D. F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Research Article

High-pressure freezing provides insights into Weibel-Palade body biogenesis

Helen L. Zenner1,*, Lucy M. Collinson2,*,{ddagger}, Grégoire Michaux1,§ and Daniel F. Cutler1,¶

1 MRC Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Cell Biology Unit, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
2 Electron Microscopy Facility, MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

Author for correspondence (e-mail: d.cutler{at}ucl.ac.uk)

Accepted 20 April 2007

The Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs) of endothelial cells play an important role in haemostasis and the initiation of inflammation, yet their biogenesis is poorly understood. Tubulation of their major content protein, von Willebrand factor (VWF), is crucial to WPB function, and so we investigated further the relationship between VWF tubule formation and WPB formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). By using high-pressure freezing and freeze substitution before electron microscopy, we visualised VWF tubules in the trans-Golgi network (TGN), as well as VWF subunits in vesicular structures. Tubules were also seen in WPBs that were connected to the TGN by membranous stalks. Tubules are disorganised in the immature WPBs but during maturation we found a dramatic increase in the spatial organisation of the tubules and in organelle electron density. We also found coated budding profiles suggestive of the removal of missorted material after initial formation of these granules. Finally, we discovered that these large, seemingly rigid, organelles flex at hinge points and that the VWF tubules are interrupted at these hinges, facilitating organelle movement around the cell. The use of high-pressure freezing was vital in this study and it suggests that this technique might prove essential to any detailed characterisation of organelle biogenesis.

Key words: High-pressure freezing, Weibel-Palade bodies, von Willebrand Factor


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JCS:

Close up on Weibel-Palade bodies

JCS 2007 120: 1204. [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
J. A. Berriman, S. Li, L. J. Hewlett, S. Wasilewski, F. N. Kiskin, T. Carter, M. J. Hannah, and P. B. Rosenthal
Structural organization of Weibel-Palade bodies revealed by cryo-EM of vitrified endothelial cells
PNAS, October 13, 2009; 106(41): 17407 - 17412.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BloodHome page
T. D. Nightingale, K. Pattni, A. N. Hume, M. C. Seabra, and D. F. Cutler
Rab27a and MyRIP regulate the amount and multimeric state of VWF released from endothelial cells
Blood, May 14, 2009; 113(20): 5010 - 5018.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
I. Hurbain, W. J. C. Geerts, T. Boudier, S. Marco, A. J. Verkleij, M. S. Marks, and G. Raposo
Electron tomography of early melanosomes: Implications for melanogenesis and the generation of fibrillar amyloid sheets
PNAS, December 16, 2008; 105(50): 19726 - 19731.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Biol. CellHome page
W. W.Y. Lui-Roberts, F. Ferraro, T. D. Nightingale, and D. F. Cutler
Aftiphilin and {gamma}-Synergin Are Required for Secretagogue Sensitivity of Weibel-Palade Bodies in Endothelial Cells
Mol. Biol. Cell, December 1, 2008; 19(12): 5072 - 5081.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BloodHome page
J. P. Giblin, L. J. Hewlett, and M. J. Hannah
Basal secretion of von Willebrand factor from human endothelial cells
Blood, August 15, 2008; 112(4): 957 - 964.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
R.-H. Huang, Y. Wang, R. Roth, X. Yu, A. R. Purvis, J. E. Heuser, E. H. Egelman, and J. E. Sadler
Assembly of Weibel Palade body-like tubules from N-terminal domains of von Willebrand factor
PNAS, January 15, 2008; 105(2): 482 - 487.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Cell Sci.Home page
D. J. Metcalf, T. D. Nightingale, H. L. Zenner, W. W. Lui-Roberts, and D. F. Cutler
Formation and function of Weibel-Palade bodies
J. Cell Sci., January 1, 2008; 121(1): 19 - 27.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007