Atomic force microscopy of renal cells: limits and prospects
Lesniewska, E.; Giocondi, M.C.; Vié, V.; Finot, E.; Goudonnet, J.P.; Le Grimellec, C.
Kidney International. Supplement 65: S42-S48
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0098-6577 PMID: 9551431 Document Number: 488963
In this brief review, we present three-dimensional images of living Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and CV-1 cells that illustrate the possibilities and limits in the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for studying the topography of the cell surfaces and of isolated biological membranes. We show that microvilli can be imaged at the surface of living epithelial cells. However, when these microvilli are abundant and close to each other, the geometry of the AFM tip only allows an access to the upper part of the structures and precludes nanometer range imaging of the cell surface. Such a nanometer range imaging was obtained with other cell types like CV-1 cells and with isolated biological membranes. It reveals that protruding particles 5 to 60 nm xy size, likely corresponding to membranes proteins, occupy most of the membrane surface. These images indicate that the AFM already gives an access to the cell surface structure at the mesoscopic scale, which constitutes a major step for the understanding of the structure-function relationships in membranes. Perspectives for a further step, the imaging at molecular resolution of membranes, are discussed.