31 research outputs found
Ultrastructural Characterization of SARS Coronavirus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first described during a 2002–2003 global outbreak of severe pneumonia associated with human deaths and person-to-person disease transmission. The etiologic agent was initially identified as a coronavirus by thin-section electron microscopic examination of a virus isolate. Virions were spherical, 78 nm in mean diameter, and composed of a helical nucleocapsid within an envelope with surface projections. Herein, we show that infection with the SARS-associated coronavirus resulted in distinct ultrastructural features: double-membrane vesicles, nucleocapsid inclusions, and large granular areas of cytoplasm. These three structures and the coronavirus particles were shown to be positive for viral proteins and RNA by using ultrastructural immunogold and in situ hybridization assays. In addition, ultrastructural examination of a bronchiolar lavage specimen from a SARS patient showed numerous coronavirus-infected cells with features similar to those in infected culture cells. Electron microscopic studies were critical in identifying the etiologic agent of the SARS outbreak and in guiding subsequent laboratory and epidemiologic investigations
Agglutination of murine leukemia viruses by specific immune sera as observed by electron microscopy.
Recommended from our members
X-ray fluorescence with synchrotron radiation
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) has long been used to make measurements of trace element concentrations in biological materials with very high sensitivity. It has not been previously possible to work with micrometer spatial resolutions because of the relatively low brightness of x-ray tubes. This situation is much improved by using synchrotron storage ring x-ray sources since the brightness of the synchrotron source is many orders of magnitude higher than is obtained with the most intense tube sources. These intense sources open the possibility of using the XRF technique for measurements with resolutions of approximately cellular dimensions. A description of a current research project at Brookhaven which uses synchrotron radiation induced x-ray emission (SRIXE) is presented to illustrate a specific application of the method in biology. 1 ref., 4 figs