Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1beta), a key component of condensed DNA, is strongly implicated in gene silencing and centromeric cohesion. Heterochromatin has been considered a static structure, stabilizing crucial aspects of nuclear organization and prohibiting access to transcription factors. We demonstrate here, by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, that a green fluorescent protein-HP1beta fusion protein is highly mobile within both the euchromatin and heterochromatin of ex vivo resting murine T cells. Moreover, T cell activation greatly increased this mobility, indicating that such a process may facilitate (hetero)chromatin remodeling and permit access of epigenetic modifiers and transcription factors to the many genes that are consequently derepressed.

Cardiac contractility is regulated through the activity of various key Ca(2+)-handling proteins. The sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) transport ATPase (SERCA2a) and its inhibitor phospholamban (PLN) control the uptake of Ca(2+) by SR membranes during relaxation. Recently, the antiapoptotic HS-1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) was identified as a binding partner of PLN, and this interaction was postulated to regulate cell apoptosis. In the current study, we determined that HAX-1 can also bind to SERCA2. Deletion mapping analysis demonstrated that amino acid residues 575-594 of SERCA2's nucleotide binding domain are required for its interaction with the C-terminal domain of HAX-1, containing amino acids 203-245. In transiently cotransfected human embryonic kidney 293 cells, recombinant SERCA2 was specifically targeted to the ER, whereas HAX-1 selectively concentrated at mitochondria. On triple transfections with PLN, however, HAX-1 massively translocated to the ER membranes, where it codistributed with PLN and SERCA2. Overexpression of SERCA2 abrogated the protective effects of HAX-1 on cell survival, after hypoxia/reoxygenation or thapsigargin treatment. Importantly, HAX-1 overexpression was associated with down-regulation of SERCA2 expression levels, resulting in significant reduction of apparent ER Ca(2+) levels. These findings suggest that HAX-1 may promote cell survival through modulation of SERCA2 protein levels and thus ER Ca(2+) stores.

Activation of T lineage cells through the TCR by peptide-MHC complexes on APC is critically dependent on rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. Vav1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for members of the Rho/Rac family of GTPases which is activated following TCR stimulation, suggesting that it may transduce TCR signals to the activation of some or all actin-controlled processes. We show that Vav1-deficient double-positive thymocytes are less efficient at forming conjugates with APC presenting agonist peptide than wild-type cells are. Furthermore we demonstrate that Vav1 is required for TCR-induced activation of the integrin LFA-1, which is likely to explain the defect in conjugate formation. However, once Vav1-deficient cells form a conjugate, the assembly of proteins into an immunological synapse at the conjugate interface is normal. In contrast, thymocyte polarization is defective in the absence of Vav1, as judged by the relocalization of the microtubule-organizing center. These data demonstrate that Vav1 transduces signals to only a subset of cytoskeletondependent events at the immunological synapse.

SummaryIt is widely recognized that the accuracy of colocalization measurements is dependent upon the quality of the source images. We demonstrate that, as the image quality increases, the measured colocalization, using the Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients, approaches the true colocalization asymptotically. This means that in practice it is difficult to obtain images of sufficient quality for accurate measurements. We introduce the replicatebased noise corrected correlation (RBNCC) which aligns the measured colocalization with the true colocalization: a noise measurement is made for each fluorophore from a pair of replicate images, the two noise measurements are combined to generate a correction factor which is applied to the measured colocalization between the two fluorophores. In consequence, accurate measurements can be obtained even with noisy images, making RBNCC especially attractive for live imaging. Even with images of apparently good quality we found an average discrepancy of about 20% between the measured and corrected colocalization. A case is made for using the Spearman rank coefficient instead of the Pearson coefficient to measure colocalization.

No abstract

We investigated the hypothesis that an increase in cytoplasmic calcium ion concentration, [Ca2+]i, is one of the mechanisms responsible for increased microvessel permeability. We loaded the cells forming the walls of individually perfused microvessels in frog mesentery with fura-2 and measured [Ca2+]i in the control state and after adding the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin to the perfusate. [Ca2+]i in the control state was 65 +/- 6 nM and increased to an initial peak of 285 +/- 29 nM after 1-3 min. After 4, 6, and 10 min, [Ca2+]i was 199 +/- 18, 163 +/- 16, and 129 +/- 9 nM, respectively. [Ca2+]i fell back to 77 +/- 7 nM after ionophore was removed. In similar experiments, hydraulic conductivity (Lp) increased to a peak of 9.5 times control after 1-3 min, then fell to 2.0 times control after 6 min. Lp remained elevated at this level for as long as ionophore was present in the perfusate. [Ca2+]i modulates the initial and sustained phases of the permeability increase. Both processes depend on external Ca2+ influx. Our experiments provide the first direct measurement of [Ca2+]i during a change in the permeability of an intact microvessel.

imaging ͉ lymphoid organogenesis ͉ transgenic mice

Primary neurons were grown on structured silicon (Si) substrates, in the absence of chemotropic factors or synthetic extracellular matrix. The Si substrates used for the study comprise hierarchical structures in the micro- and nanolength scales. The substrates were structured via femtosecond laser irradiation of the Si wafer, in a reactive SF(6) environment. Electron microscopy revealed that the neurons formed an elaborate web of cytoplasmic processes in the absence of glial elements. The neuronal cytoplasm autografted the depth of the spikes, and the neurite sprouting took place over the spikes surface. Here we demonstrate how microfabrication of a Si surface provides an excellent platform for multifaceted studies of neuronal specimens.