应用激光扫描共聚焦显微镜观察晶体上皮细胞中的游离钙

目的用钙的荧光指示剂ｆｌｕｏ－３和激光扫描共聚焦显微镜（ｌａｓｅｒｓｃａｎｎｉｎｇｃｏｎｆｏｃａｌｍｉｃｒｏｓｃｏｐｙ，ＬＳＣＭ）观察大白鼠的晶体上皮细胞（ｌｅｎｓｅｐｉｔｈｅｌｉａｌｃｅｌ，ＬＥＣ）中的游离钙。方法ｆｌｕｏ－３着染细胞后，应用ＬＳＣＭ观察细胞内ｆｌｕｏ－３与钙螯合后的荧光分布，最后用钙离子载体Ａ２３１８７和重金属离子Ｍｎ＋＋作校正，将ｆｌｕｏ－３与钙结合显示的荧光强度转换为［Ｃａ＋＋］ｉ值。结果ＬＥＣ中的游离钙主要分布在细胞核中。大白鼠晶体上皮细胞中的［Ｃａ＋＋］ｉ为２５９．７９±４９．２４ｎｍｏｌ／Ｌ。结论ｆｌｕｏ－３与ＬＥＣ孵育后能着染细胞。用ＬＳＣＭ能直观地观察细胞内钙的分布，并能通过校正得到细胞内游离钙的绝对值。这种成熟的方法，为进一步对ＬＥＣ中游离Ｃａ＋＋的研究提供技术准备     

牙体修复材料体外充填密合度的扫描电镜研究

用扫描电镜直接观察及硅橡胶一环氧树脂扫描电镜复型技术观察银汞合金、ＥＢ复合树脂、玻璃离子粘固粉体外充填与釉质、牙骨／本质壁的边缘密合度。结果表明，与牙体组织呈化学性结合的玻璃离子粘固粉与釉质、牙骨／本质壁的密合度好，两壁之间无差别；ＥＢ复合树脂与釉质壁的边缘密合度与玻璃离子粘固粉相似，其缝隙明显小于牙骨／本质壁；银汞合金与釉质壁、牙骨／本质壁的边缘密合度差，且两壁之间无明显差别。     

结肠腺癌CEA的超微结构定位

用辣根过氧化物酶标记的癌胚抗原（ＣＥＡ）抗体，对结肠腺癌患者的手术标本进行了免疫组织化学染色，观察了ＣＥＡ在肿瘤组织及正常组织细胞中的分布。结果显示，正常结肠组织中，ＣＥＡ沿粘膜上皮细胞的游离面分布；结肠腺癌细胞则失去极性，ＣＥＡ除见于细胞游离面，在细胞侧面和基底面也呈阳性反应。提示ＣＥＡ在结肠细胞表面的分布失去极性可能是腺癌细胞的特点。     

Determination of Red Blood Cell Velocity by Video Shuttering and Image Analysis

A novel modification of conventional video imaging techniques has been developed to determine the velocity of red blood cells (RBCs), which offers compatibility with existing video-based methods for determining blood oxygenation and hemoglobin concentration. Traditional frame-by-frame analysis of video recordings limits the maximum velocity that can be measured for individual cells in vivo to about 2 mm/s. We have extended this range to about 20 mm/s, by electronic shuttering of an intensified charge-coupled device camera to produce multiple images of a single RBC in the same video frame. RBCs were labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and the labeled cells (FRBCs) were used as probes to determine RBC velocities in microvessels of the hamster retractor muscle. Velocity was computed as the product of the distance between centroids of two consecutive image positions of a FRBC and the shuttering frequency of the camera intensifier. In vitro calibrations of the system using FRBC and Sephadex beads coated onto a rotating disk yielded an average coefficient of variation of about 6%. Flow conservation studies at bifurcations indicated that the maximum diameter of microvessels below which all the FRBCs in the lumen could be detected was 50 m. The technique was used to estimate mean-FRBC velocity distributions in vessels with diameters ranging from 8 to 50 m. The mean-FRBC velocity profiles were found to be blunter than would be expected for Poiseuille flow. Single FRBCs tracked along an unbranched arteriole exhibited significant temporal variations in velocity. © 1999 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC99: 8719Tt, 8717Jj, 4279Pw, 8780Tq, 8719Ff, 4230Va, 0705Pj     

Rapid diagnosis of parasitic diseases: current scenario and future needs

Background

Parasitic diseases are one of the world's most devastating and prevalent infections, causing millions of morbidities and mortalities annually. In the past, many of these infections have been linked predominantly to tropical or subtropical areas. Nowadays, however, climatic and vector ecology changes, a significant increase in international travel, armed conflicts, and migration of humans and animals have influenced the transmission of some parasitic diseases from ‘book pages’ to reality in developed countries. It has also been noted that many patients who have never travelled to endemic areas suffer from blood-borne infections caused by protozoa. In the light of existing knowledge, this new trend can be explained by the fact that in the process of migration a large number of asymptomatic carriers become a part of the blood bank donor and transplant donor populations. Accurate and rapid diagnosis represents the crucial weapon in the fight against parasitic infections.

A morphological transition in the pleomorphic bacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310

We provide microscopic evidence that motile rod-shaped forms of Ramlibacter tataouinensis TTB310 are formed from dividing cyst-like cells. Careful estimation of the size of the two morphotypes was conducted using optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cyst-like cell was shown to be a sphere with a diameter Dc=850 nm. The rod-shaped form was a round-ended cylinder with length Lr=2.91 microm and diameter Dr=239 nm. The membrane area of the two morphotypes was the same. However, the formation of rods from cysts involved loss of two-thirds of the cell volume. TEM showed that, prior to division and transition into rods, cysts contained condensed cytoplasmic material. These results suggest that the morphological transition occurs by pure reshaping of cells.     

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of venous sphincters in the rat lung

The rat pulmonary microvasculature was studied using scanning and transmission electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts and tissue sections. Special emphasis was placed on small pulmonary venous vessels. The shape of vascular casts was analyzed and interpreted concerning the wall composition of corresponding vessels studied in tissue sections. On the casts of pulmonary venules and small pulmonary veins, narrow or wider annular constrictions were regularly observed. Within these constrictions, marks of circularly running grooves were seen as an additional structural detail, which obviously mimic impressions of single or grouped smooth muscle cells. The depth of the constrictions varies; it may be more or less pronounced, occasionally narrowing down the luminal diameter to approximately 50%. These constrictions are caused by muscular sphincters. In tissue sections of small pulmonary veins, sphincter regions were identified as abruptly appearing single or grouped true smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle cells may be arranged side by side in a group or bundle or even staked in two or three layers. Between the sphincter regions, the venous wall consists merely of endothelium and an accompanying connective tissue layer. The smooth muscle cells of a sphincter are regularly positioned between endothelial layer and elastic lamina. The smooth muscle cells next to the endothelium form myoendothelial junctions. Autonomic nerves near the sphincters were never seen. The venous sphincters described are suggested to be effective devices involved in blood flow regulation. Blood-borne substances or local tissue hormones might govern sphincter function. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A simple method for monitoring changes in cell height using fluorescent microbeads and an Ussing-type chamber for the inverted microscope

In this study, we report two developments for studies of ion transport in cultured epithelial cells. First, a convenient method is presented for measuring apparent cell height using fluorescent microbeads as high-contrast landmarks of the apical and basal cell surfaces. The apparent cell height is then used as an indicator to monitor the time course of changes in cell volume in response to osmotic perturbations. Second, an Ussing-type chamber design for the inverted fluorescence microscope is presented, which allows determination of transepithelial electrical properties. Using these two methods, we obtained simultaneous measurements of cell height and transepithelial electrical parameters for cultured renal (A6) epithelium. Cell height was measured by alternately focusing the microscope between microbeads marking the apical and basal surfaces. The distance between these two surfaces was measured electrically from the voltage output of a potentiometer that was mechanically coupled to the fine-focusing knob of the microscope. Following decreases in the bathing solution osmolality, the cell height and transepithelial Na⁺ transport rate (measured as short-circuit current, I _SC) increased. The increase in cell height preceded changes in I _SC by several minutes, suggesting a lack of direct linkage between changes in cell volume and transepithelial Na⁺ transport. Both the fluorescent microbead cell height method and the Ussing-type chamber can be used in conjunction with patch-clamp techniques, intracellular microelectrode impalements, or fluorescent probes of intracellular composition. Therefore, this system may be advantageous for studies of epithelial cell volume and channel regulation.     

苯丙氨酸缓解高血压大鼠血管重塑

目的：应用激光共聚焦显微镜观察高血压时血管重塑，以及苯丙氨酸治疗后对血管重塑的影响。方法： 以Wistar-Kyoto 大鼠 (WKY)和自发性高血压大鼠(SHR)为研究对象，采用固定压力灌注和荧光染色激光共聚焦显微镜观察分析肠系膜小动脉的管腔、厚度和血管平滑肌的排列方向。结果： SHR较WKY 管腔缩小，管壁增厚，同时血管平滑肌排列方向紊乱。应用苯丙氨酸治疗后，管腔扩大，管壁变薄，血管平滑肌排列方向改善。结论： 高血压大鼠肠系膜小动脉存在血管重塑现象，苯丙氨酸可以改善血管重塑。     

Ultrastructural features of solid/trabecular areas in differentiated thyroid carcinoma

The presence of areas exhibiting a solid/trabecular pattern of growth within an otherwise differentiated thyroid carcinoma represents a source of controversy as regards its proper classification and biologic and prognostic significance. The aim of the current study was to investigate the ultrastructural features of solid/trabecular areas in differentiated thyroid carcinoma and to compare those features with the submicroscopic profile of differentiated, poorly differentiated (insular), and undifferentiated (anaplastic) variants of thyroid cancer. The study series included differentiated carcinoma with solid/trabecular areas (3 cases), conventional papillary carcinoma (4 cases), follicular variant of papillary carcinoma (4 cases), poorly differentiated (insular) carcinoma (3 cases), and undifferentiated (anaplastic) carcinoma (3 cases). It was found that the solid/trabecular areas in differentiated carcinoma and poorly differentiated (insular) carcinoma share similar ultrastructural features and overall retain, even if attenuated, many of the submicroscopic attributes of differentiated carcinomas. In particular, nests of neoplastic cells were observed showing a highly developed cytosecretory apparatus and the presence of numerous abortive/rudimentary follicles, and intercellular and intracellular (intracytoplasmic) lumina/canaliculi of variable morphology. The study supports the hypothesis that the solid/trabecular areas do not merely represent an architectural pattern but rather should be regarded as the expression of a process of reduced differentiation similar to that of poorly differentiated (insular) carcinoma.