Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1962 Jan 1;12(1):79–90. doi: 10.1083/jcb.12.1.79

SOME DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF THE NUCLEAR ENVELOPE

R W Merriam 1
PMCID: PMC2106017  PMID: 14472878

Abstract

Nuclei of frog oocytes were isolated, fixed in OsO4 or KMnO4, and washed. Nuclear envelopes were then dissected off, placed on grids, and air-dried for electron microscopy. Envelopes from immature oocytes at the stage of beginning yolk deposition were compared with those from mature oocytes. Envelopes from the immature stage had "pores" whose annuli contained more material and showed central globules in the center much more frequently than envelopes from mature eggs. Annuli and central globules had similar appearance and fixation properties, suggesting similar chemical composition. After fixation with KMnO4, residual densities suggested that "pore" diaphragms are much more variable in thickness or composition in the younger stages. Envelopes of the immature oocytes had about 40 per cent more "pores" per unit area than mature envelopes. In crowding together, the "pores" tended to assume geometrical packing arrays in the young envelope, showing minimum center-to-center spacings of about 1530 A. Since the actual discontinuities in the membranes of the envelope are only about 950 A in diameter, this minimum distance of approach suggests that adjacent formations of the nuclear surface are associated with "pore" structure and perhaps set their limiting spacing distances. If this is true, then it can be deduced that "pore"-associated structures of the nuclear surface are probably circular in outline and about 1500 A in diameter. Isotopically labeled lysine was administered to intact, growing oocytes for 1 to 4 hours and the envelopes were subsequently isolated and fixed. Autoradiography of entire envelopes showed little or no incorporation of lysine into proteins, as compared with small fragments from other parts of the cell of roughly comparable mass. It was concluded that the isolated envelope, as seen in the electron micrographs, does not synthesize or turn over lysine-containing protein at a high rate.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.1 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. AFZELIUS B. A. The ultrastructure of the nuclear membrane of the sea urchin oocyte as studied with the electron microscope. Exp Cell Res. 1955 Feb;8(1):147–158. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(55)90051-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BAHR G. F., BEERMANN W. The fine structure of the nuclear membrane in the larval salivary gland and midgut of Chironomus. Exp Cell Res. 1954 May;6(2):519–522. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(54)90200-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BARTH L. G., BARTH L. J. Differentiation of cells of the Rana pipiens gastrula in unconditioned medium. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 1959 Jun;7:210–222. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. BRANDT P. W., PAPPAS G. D. Mitochondria. II. The nuclear-mitochondrial relationship in Pelomyxa carolinensis Wilson (Chaos chaos L.). J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 Aug;6(1):91–96. doi: 10.1083/jcb.6.1.91. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. BRENNER S. The chromatic nuclear membrane. Exp Cell Res. 1953 Sep;5(1):257–260. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(53)90113-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. COHEN A. I. Electron microscopic observations of amoeba proteus in growth and inanition. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1957 Nov 25;3(6):859–866. doi: 10.1083/jcb.3.6.859. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GALL J. G. Observations on the nuclear membrane with the electron microscope. Exp Cell Res. 1954 Aug;7(1):197–200. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(54)90054-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GREGG M. B., MORGAN C. Reduplication of nuclear membranes in HeLa cells infected with adenovirus. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 Dec;6:539–540. doi: 10.1083/jcb.6.3.539. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gay H. NUCLEO-CYTOPLASMIC RELATIONS IN SALIVARY-GLAND CELLS OF Drosophila. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1955 Jun 15;41(6):370–375. doi: 10.1073/pnas.41.6.370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. King T. J., Briggs R. CHANGES IN THE NUCLEI OF DIFFERENTIATING GASTRULA CELLS, AS DEMONSTRATED BY NUCLEAR TRANSPLANTATION. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1955 May 15;41(5):321–325. doi: 10.1073/pnas.41.5.321. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MERRIAM R. W. Nuclear envelope structure during cell division in Chaetopterus eggs. Exp Cell Res. 1961 Jan;22:93–107. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(61)90089-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MERRIAM R. W. The origin and fate of annulate lamellae in maturing sand dollar eggs. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 Jan 25;5(1):117–122. doi: 10.1083/jcb.5.1.117. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. PORTER K. R., MACHADO R. D. Studies on the endoplasmic reticulum. IV. Its form and distribution during mitosis in cells of onion root tip. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1960 Feb;7:167–180. doi: 10.1083/jcb.7.1.167. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. REBHUN L. I. Electron microscopy of basophilic structures of some invertebrate oocytes. I. Periodic lamellane and the nuclear envelope. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1956 Jan 25;2(1):93–104. doi: 10.1083/jcb.2.1.93. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. SIRLIN J. L., ELSDALE T. R. Rates of labelling of RNA and proteins in cell components of the amphibian myoblast. Exp Cell Res. 1959 Oct;18:268–281. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(59)90006-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WATSON M. L. Further observations on the nuclear envelope of the animal cell. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 Oct;6:147–156. doi: 10.1083/jcb.6.2.147. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. WATSON M. L. The nuclear envelope; its structure and relation to cytoplasmic membranes. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1955 May 25;1(3):257–270. doi: 10.1083/jcb.1.3.257. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. WHALEY W. G., MOLLENHAUER H. H., KEPHART J. E. The endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi structures in maize root cells. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 May 25;5(3):501–506. doi: 10.1083/jcb.5.3.501. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES