SOME UNUSUAL FEATURES OF FINE STRUCTURE OBSERVED IN HELA CELLS

Abstract

HeLa cells from conventional culture media have been studied in thin sections with the electron microscope; in many cases cells were examined in sets of sections cut in series. The fine structure of the cells is described including three unusual features not hitherto reported. It has been found that numerous cells contained rows of parallel smooth surfaced cisternae spaced about 150 m# apart and communicating with rough surfaced elements of the endoplasrnic reticulum. These cisternae resembled "annulate lamellae" but did not contain regular arrays of pores. In many cells an area of juxtanuclear cytoplasm was occupied by a membranous structure composed of closely applied pairs of narrow cisternae either arranged in concentric rings or else extending in several directions in a haphazard manner. Sparse particles were present on the outer membranes of each pair of cisternae. Communications between the double cisternae and other membrane-bounded structures were not observed. A small number of cells contained areas of cytoplasm devoid of organelles and filled with amorphous fuzzy material. The observations recorded are discussed.

The Ultrastructure of a Mammalian Cell During the Mitotic Cycle

“…INTERPHASE: The interphase HeLa cell has often been used in electron microscope studies, and descriptions of it are numerous (18,19). In our studies we have not seen anything not previously noted, and therefore Figs.…”

The “Paired Cisternae” in Mitotic Cells of the Pigeon Esophageal Epithelium

“…In the same paper he reported that similar lamellar structures were observed also in the hepatocytes of the regenerating rat liver after partial hepatectomy. In the cytoplasm of HeLa cells, EPSTEIN (1961) has observed similar complex membranous structures designating them as "pairs of double cytoplasmic membranes," "closely applied pairs of narrow cisternae" or "paired cisternae." Though he paid no special attention to the relations between these structures and mitosis, it is obvious that he found them in the interphase cells, because of his description that in many cells an area of juxtanuclear cytoplasm was occupied by this structure.…”

“…Except those authors to whom the origin and nature of paired cisternae seemed obscure (EPSTEIN, 1961), all discussed these questions rather profoundly. JOHNSON andROBERTS (1964) andLOCKER et al (1968) supposed that paired cisternae may be related to the formation or synthesis of cytoplasmic membranes.…”

“…Some other authors either discussed nothing on this subject (EPSTEIN, 1961;DEANS, 1964;ODOR, 1965) or wrote that the origin and the subsequent fate are obscure (JOHNSON and ROBERTS, 1964). SZOLLOSI (1967) andLOCKER et al (1968) revealed important evidence that one double membranous component of the paired cisternae was occasionally found to be represented by both leaflets of the nuclear envelope and that the paired cisternae were often seen with its one side consisting of the nuclear membrane.…”

Cryomicroscopic Investigations of Freezing Processes in Cell Suspensions

“…There is an increasing need to understand the low temperature behavior of Jurkat cells not only for immunological reasons but also for the application in adoptive tumor therapy [46]. And finally, like Jurkat cells, HeLa cells are also an immortal cell line derived from cervical cancer cells [47]. Similar to Jurkat cells, these cells were also chosen for analysis because of their robustness, easy availability, and because they are relatively less understood among the cancer cells.…”