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Integrin and Cell Adhesion Molecules pp 111–128Cite as

Electron Microscopic Imaging of Integrin

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 757))

Abstract

Rotary-shadowed samples often used for electron microscopy do not preserve native integrin conformations. Negatively stained integrins – or, more desirably, unstained integrins in a cryo-condition – are now being used with sophisticated imaging techniques. Additionally, a single-particle analysis (SPA) of integrins is advanced by the recent determination of several crystal structures of integrins. Nevertheless the conformational flexibility of integrins limits the ability of SPA to image physiologic conformations. To solve this problem, we apply electron tomography to purified integrin, thereby obtaining high-quality three-dimensional (3-D) images that fit well to the atomic structures. We have also taken typical SPA approaches to obtain a 3-D reconstruction of integrin, using conditions that favor the bent conformation.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Professor Junichi Takagi for critical reading of this manuscript and for his advice, and Emiko Mihara and Naoyuki Miyazaki for technical assistance. A part of this work was supported by “Nanotechnology Network Project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan” at the Research Center for Ultrahigh Voltage Electron Microscopy, Osaka University (Handai multifunctional Nano-Foundry) and the CREST, JST.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Structural and Functional Proteomics, Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

    Kenji Iwasaki

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  1. Kenji Iwasaki
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Correspondence to Kenji Iwasaki .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School, Longwood Avenue 200, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Motomu Shimaoka

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Iwasaki, K. (2011). Electron Microscopic Imaging of Integrin. In: Shimaoka, M. (eds) Integrin and Cell Adhesion Molecules. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 757. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-166-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-166-6_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-165-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-166-6

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