monitoring-effect-osmotic-stress-on-secretory-vesicles

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis

Amperometry recording of cells subjected to osmotic shock show that secretory cells respond to this physical stress by reducing the exocytosis activity ...

Chalmers University of Technology

Mesoporous materials are of high interest as implant coatings to receive an enhanced osseointegration. In this study, titanium implants coated with mesoporous TiO(2) thin films have been evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Material characterization showed that, with partly crystalline TiO(2) (anatase), long-range-ordered hydrophilic mesoporous thin films with a pore size of 6nm were obtained. Evaluation of the mechanical resistance showed that the films were robust enough to withstand the standard implantation procedure. In vitro apatite formation was studied using simulated body fluids, showing that the pores are accessible for ions and that formation of apatite was increased due to the presence of the mesopores. An in vivo study using a rabbit model was executed in which the removal torque and histomorphometry were evaluated. The results show that the biomechanical stability of the TiO(2) coating was unaffected by the presence of mesopores and that osseointegration was achieved without any signs of inflammation.

In vivo biomechanical stability of osseointegrating mesoporous TiO(2) implants.

We present the electrochemical response to single adrenal chromaffin vesicles filled with catecholamine hormones as they are adsorbed and rupture on a 33 μm diameter disk-shaped carbon electrode. The vesicles adsorb onto the electrode surface and sequentially spread out over the electrode surface, trapping their contents against the electrode. These contents are then oxidized, and a current (or amperometric) peak results from each vesicle that bursts. A large number of current transients associated with rupture of single vesicles (86%) are observed under the experimental conditions used, allowing us to quantify the vesicular catecholamine content.

Characterizing the catecholamine content of single mammalian vesicles by collision-adsorption events at an electrode.

The quantification of vesicular transmitter content is important for studying the mechanisms of neurotransmission and malfunction in disease, and yet it is incredibly difficult to measure the tiny amounts of neurotransmitters in the attoliter volume of a single vesicle, especially in the cell environment. We introduce a novel method, intracellular vesicle electrochemical cytometry. A nanotip conical carbon-fiber microelectrode was used to electrochemically measure the total content of electroactive neurotransmitters in individual nanoscale vesicles in single PC12 cells as these vesicles lysed on the electrode inside the living cell. The results demonstrate that only a fraction of the quantal neurotransmitter content is released during exocytosis. These data support the intriguing hypothesis that the vesicle does not open all the way during the normal exocytosis process, thus resulting in incomplete expulsion of the vesicular contents.

Quantitative measurement of transmitters in individual vesicles in the cytoplasm of single cells with nanotip electrodes.

A recent approach to improve the osseointegration of implants is to utilize local drug administration. The presence of an osteoporosis drug may influence both bone quantity and quality at the bone/implant interface. Despite this, the performance of bone-anchoring implants is traditionally evaluated only by quantitative measurements. In the present study, the osteoporosis drug alendronate (ALN) was administrated from mesoporous titania thin films that were coated onto titanium implants. The effect that the drug had on biomineralization was explored both in vitro using simulated body fluid (SBF) and in vivo in a rat tibia model. The SBF study showed that the apatite formation was completely hindered at a high concentration of ALN (0.1 mg/mL). However, when ALN was administrated from the mesoporous coating the surface became completely covered with apatite. Ex vivo characterization of the bone/implant interface using Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that the presence of ALN enhanced the bone mineralization, and that the chemical signature of newly formed bone in the presence of ALN had a higher resemblance to the pre-existing mature bone than to the bone formed without drug. Taken together, this study demonstrates the importance of evaluating the quality of the formed bone to better understand the performance of implants. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A 104A: 620-629, 2016.

The effect of alendronate on biomineralization at the bone/implant interface.

Secretory cells respond to hypertonic stress by cell shrinking, which causes a reduction in exocytosis activity and the amount of signaling molecules released from single exocytosis events. These changes in exocytosis have been suggested to result from alterations in biophysical properties of cell cytoplasm and plasma membrane, based on the assumption that osmotic stress does not affect the secretory vesicle content and size prior to exocytosis. To further investigate whether vesicles in secretory cells are affected by the osmolality of the extracellular environment, we used intracellular electrochemical cytometry together with transmission electron microscopy imaging to quantify and determine the catecholamine concentration of dense core vesicles in situ before and after cell exposure to osmotic stress. In addition, single cell amperometry recordings of exocytosis at chromaffin cells were used to monitor the effect on exocytosis activity and quantal release when cells were exposed to osmotic stress. Here we show that hypertonic stress hampers exocytosis secretion after the first pool of readily releasable vesicles have been fused and that extracellular osmotic stress causes catecholamine filled vesicles to shrink, mainly by reducing the volume of the halo solution surrounding the protein matrix in dense core vesicles. In addition, the vesicles demonstrate the ability to perform adjustments in neurotransmitter content during shrinking, and intracellular amperometry measurements in situ suggest that vesicles reduce the catecholamine content to maintain a constant concentration within the vesicle compartment. Hence, the secretory vesicles in the cell cytoplasm are highly affected and respond to extracellular osmotic stress, which gives a new perspective to the cause of reduction in quantal size by these vesicles when undergoing exocytosis.

Extracellular Osmotic Stress Reduces the Vesicle Size while Keeping a Constant Neurotransmitter Concentration.

Chemical signaling strength during intercellular communication can be regulated by secretory cells through controlling the amount of signaling molecules that are released from a secretory vesicle during the exocytosis process. In addition, the chemical signal can also be influenced by the amount of neurotransmitters that is accumulated and stored inside the secretory vesicle compartment. Here, we present the development of analytical methodologies and cell model systems that have been applied in neuroscience research for gaining better insights into the biophysics and the molecular mechanisms, which are involved in the regulatory aspects of the exocytosis machinery affecting the output signal of chemical transmission at neuronal and neuroendocrine cells.

Hoda Fathali

Department Of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Chalmers University of Technology

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis