Abstract
Dense granular bodies (DGB) are particular structural constituents observed in cell nuclei of different tissues—liver, pancreas, brown adipose tissue, adrenal cortex—of hibernating dormice. They appear as strongly electron-dense clusters of closely packed granules, with thin fibrils spreading out at their periphery. DGB always occur in the nucleoplasm, sometimes making contact with other nuclear structural constituents typical of the hibernating state, such as coiled bodies, amorphous bodies and nucleoplasmic fibrils. DGB are present only during deep hibernation and rapidly disappear upon arousal from hibernation. Cytochemical and immunocytochemical analyses showed that DGB contain ribonucleoproteins and several nucleoplasmic RNA processing factors, suggesting that DGB can represent accumulation sites of splicing factors which are provided to splicing sites when normal metabolic activity is rapidly restored during arousal.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrade LEC, Chan EKL, Raska I, Peebles CL, Roos G, Tan EM (1991) Human autoantibody to a novel protein of the nuclear coiled body: immunological characterization and cDNA cloning of p80-coilin. J Exp Med 173:1407–1419
Bernhard W (1969) A new staining procedure for electron microscopical cytology. J Ultrastruct Res 27:250–265
Biggiogera M, Flach Biggiogera F (1989) Ethidium bromide- and propidium iodide-PTA staining of nucleic acids at the electron microscopic level. J Histochem Cytochem 37:1161–1166
Bocharova LS, Gordon RY, Arkhipov VI (1992) Uridine uptake and RNA synthesis in the brain of torpid and awakened ground squirrels. Comp Biochem Physiol 101B:189–192
Carlemalm E, Garavito RM, Villiger W (1982) Resin development for electron microscopy and an analysis of embedding at low temperature. J Microsc 126:123–143
Cervera J (1978) Effects of thermic shock on HEp-2 cells. An ultrastructural and high-resolution autoradiographic study. J Ultrastruct Res 63:51–63
Cervera J, Alamar M, Martinez A, Renau-Piqueras J (1983) Nuclear alterations induced by cadmium chloride andl-canavanine in HeLa S3 cells. Accumulation of perichromatin granules. J Ultrastruct Res 82:241–263
Clevenger C, Epstein A (1984) Identification of a nuclear protein component of interchromatin granules using a monoclonal antibody and immunogold electron microscopy. Exp Cell Res 151:194–207
Derij LV, Shtark MB (1985) Hibernators' brain: protein synthesis in the neocortex and the hippocampus. Comp Biochem Physiol 80B:927–934
Fakan S (1994) Perichromatin fibrils are in situ forms of nascent transcripts. Trends Cell Biol 4:86–90
French AR (1988) The patterns of mammalian hibernation. Am Sci 76:569–575
Fu X-D, Maniatis T (1990) Factor required for mammalian spliceosome assembly is localized to discrete regions in the nucleus. Nature 343:437–441
Hoffman RA (1964) Terrestrial animals in the cold: hibernators. In: Handbook of physiology, section 4, adaptation to the environment. American Physiological Society, Washington DC, pp 379–403.
Jones RE, Okamura CS, Martin TE (1980) Immunofluorescent localization of the proteins of nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes. J Cell Biol 86:235–243
Kedinger C, Simard R (1974) The action of α-amanitin on RNA synthesis in chinese hamster ovary cells. Ultrastructural and biochemical studies. J Cell Biol 63:831–842
Kolaeva SG, Kramarova LI, Ilyasova EN, Ilyasov FE (1980) The kinetics and metabolism of the cells of hibernating animals during hibernation. Int Rev Cytol 66:147–170
Lerner EA, Lerner MR, Janeway CA, Steitz J (1981) Monoclonal antibodies to nucleic acid-containing cellular constituents: probes for molecular biology and autoimmune diseases. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:2737–2741
Leser GP, Fakan S, Martin TE (1989) Ultrastructural distribution of ribonucleoprotein complexes during mitosis, snRNP antigens are contained in mitotic granule clusters. Eur J Cell Biol 50:376–389
Lührmann R, Appel B, Bringmann P, Rinke J, Reuter R, Rothe S, Bald R (1982) Isolation and characterization of rabbit anti-m3G antibodies. Nucleic Acids Res 10:7103–7113
Malatesta M, Zancanaro C, Martin TE, Chan EKL, Amalric F, Lürhmann R, Vogel P, Fakan S (1994a) Cytochemical and immunocytochemical characterization of nuclear bodies during hibernation. Eur J Cell Biol 65:82–93
Malatesta M, Zancanaro C, Martin TE, Chan EKL, Amalric F, Lürhmann R, Vogel P, Fakan S (1994b) Is the coiled body involved in nucleolar functions? Exp Cell Res 211:415–419
Malatesta M, Zancanaro C, Tamburini M, Martin TE, Fu X-D, Vogel P, Fakan S (1995) Novel nuclear ribonucleoprotein structural components in the dormouse adrenal cortex during hibernation. Chromosoma 104:121–128
Moreno, FJ, Hernandez-Verdun D, Masson C, Bouteille M (1985) Silver staining of the nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) on Lowicryl and cryo-ultrathin sections. J Histochem Cytochem 33:389–399
Puvion E, Viron A, Bernhard W (1977) Unusual accumulation of ribonucleoprotein constituents in the nucleus of cultured rat liver cells after hypothermal shock. Biol Cell 29:81–88
Spector DL, Fu X-D, Maniatis T (1991) Associations between distinct pre-mRNA splicing components and the cell nucleus. EMBO J 10:3467–3481
Wang LCH (1987) Mammalian hibernation. In: Grout BWW, Morris GJ (eds) The effects of low temperature on biological systems. Arnold, London, pp 349–386
Zancanaro C, Malatesta M, Vogel P, Osculati F, Fakan S (1993) Ultrastructural and morphometrical analyses of the brown adipocyte nucleus in a hibernating dormouse. Biol Cell 79:55–61
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tamburini, M., Malatesta, M., Zancanaro, C. et al. Dense granular bodies: a novel nucleoplasmic structure in hibernating dormice. Histochem Cell Biol 106, 581–586 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02473273
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02473273