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2016 ; 1365
(ä): 99-118
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Imaging Cytoskeleton Components by Electron Microscopy
#MMPMID26498781
Svitkina T
Methods Mol Biol
2016[]; 1365
(ä): 99-118
PMID26498781
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The cytoskeleton is a complex of detergent-insoluble components of the cytoplasm
playing critical roles in cell motility, shape generation, and mechanical
properties of a cell. Fibrillar polymers-actin filaments, microtubules, and
intermediate filaments-are major constituents of the cytoskeleton, which
constantly change their organization during cellular activities. The actin
cytoskeleton is especially polymorphic, as actin filaments can form multiple
higher order assemblies performing different functions. Structural information
about cytoskeleton organization is critical for understanding its functions and
mechanisms underlying various forms of cellular activity. Because of the
nanometer-scale thickness of cytoskeletal fibers, electron microscopy (EM) is a
key tool to determine the structure of the cytoskeleton. This article describes
application of rotary shadowing (or metal replica) EM for visualization of the
cytoskeleton. The procedure is applicable to thin cultured cells growing on glass
coverslips and consists of detergent extraction of cells to expose their
cytoskeleton, chemical fixation to provide stability, ethanol dehydration and
critical point drying to preserve three-dimensionality, rotary shadowing with
platinum to create contrast, and carbon coating to stabilize replicas. This
technique provides easily interpretable three-dimensional images, in which
individual cytoskeletal fibers are clearly resolved, and individual proteins can
be identified by immunogold labeling. More importantly, replica EM is easily
compatible with live cell imaging, so that one can correlate the dynamics of a
cell or its components, e.g., expressed fluorescent proteins, with high
resolution structural organization of the cytoskeleton in the same cell.