Wayne Rasband of NIH has created ImageJ, an open source Java-written program that is now at version 1.31 and is used for many imaging applications, including those that that span the gamut from skin analysis to neuroscience. ImageJ is in the public domain and runs on any operating system (OS). ImageJ is easy to use and can do many imaging manipulations. A very large and knowledgeable group makes up the user community for ImageJ. Topics covered are imaging abilities; cross platform; image formats support as of June 2004; extensions, including macros and plug-ins; and imaging library. NIH reports tens of thousands of downloads at a rate of about 24,000 per month currently. ImageJ can read most of the widely used and significant formats used in biomedical images. Manipulations supported are read/write of image files and operations on separate pixels, image regions, entire images, and volumes (stacks in ImageJ). Basic operations supported include convolution, edge detection, Fourier transform, histogram and particle analyses, editing and color manipulation, and more advanced operations, as well as visualization. For assistance in using ImageJ, users e-mail each other, and the user base is highly knowledgeable and will answer requests on the mailing list. A thorough manual with many examples and illustrations has been written by Tony Collins of the Wright Cell Imaging Facility at Toronto Western Research Institute and is available, along with other listed resources, via the Web.

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Image processing with ImageJ

Capsaicin, the main pungent ingredient in 'hot' chilli peppers, elicits a sensation of burning pain by selectively activating sensory neurons that convey information about noxious stimuli to the central nervous system We have used an expression cloning strategy based on calcium influx to isolate a functional cDNA encoding a capsaicin receptor from sensory neurons This receptor is a non-selective cation channel that is structurally related to members of the TRP family of ion channels The cloned capsaicin receptor is also activated by increases in temperature in the noxious range, suggesting that it functions as a transducer of painful thermal stimuli in vivo

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The capsaicin receptor: a heat-activated ion channel in the pain pathway

Protein kinase C has a crucial role in signal transduction for a variety of biologically active substances which activate cellular functions and proliferation. When cells are stimulated, protein kinase C is transiently activated by diacylglycerol which is produced in the membrane during the signal-induced turnover of inositol phospholipids. Tumour-promoting phorbol esters, when intercalated into the cell membrane, may substitute for diacylglycerol and permanently activate protein kinase C. The enzyme probably serves as a receptor for the tumour promoters. Further exploration of the roles of this enzyme may provide clues for understanding the mechanism of cell growth and differentiation.

The role of protein kinase C in cell surface signal transduction and tumour promotion

Inositol trisphosphate is a second messenger that controls many cellular processes by generating internal calcium signals. It operates through receptors whose molecular and physiological properties closely resemble the calcium-mobilizing ryanodine receptors of muscle. This family of intracellular calcium channels displays the regenerative process of calcium-induced calcium release responsible for the complex spatiotemporal patterns of calcium waves and oscillations. Such a dynamic signalling pathway controls many cellular processes, including fertilization, cell growth, transformation, secretion, smooth muscle contraction, sensory perception and neuronal signalling.

Inositol trisphosphate and calcium signalling

There has recently been rapid progress in understanding receptors that generate intracellular signals from inositol lipids. One of these lipids, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, is hydrolysed to diacylglycerol and inositol trisphosphate as part of a signal transduction mechanism for controlling a variety of cellular processes including secretion, metabolism, phototransduction and cell proliferation. Diacylglycerol operates within the plane of the membrane to activate protein kinase C, whereas inositol trisphosphate is released into the cytoplasm to function as a second messenger for mobilizing intracellular calcium.

Inositol trisphosphate, a novel second messenger in cellular signal transduction.

We have characterized some properties of the caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ store in bovine chromaffin cells. Addition of 10 mM-caffeine to permeabilized cells that were allowed to sequester Ca2+ in the presence of the precipitating anion pyrophosphate induced a transient rise in free Ca2+ concentration that was blocked by 10 microM-Ruthenium Red. Caffeine was able to release Ca2+ after the InsP3-sensitive Ca2+ pool had been completely emptied, and 10 microM-InsP3 still released Ca2+ in the presence of a high dose (50 mM) of caffeine, indicating that there are selectively sensitive Ca2+ pools in these cells. The progressive hydrolysis of pyrophosphate by a cytosolic pyrophosphatase induced a spontaneous Ca2+ release after a latency. Caffeine prevented this spontaneous Ca2+ release, indicating that the pyrophosphate-sensitive Ca2+ pool was caffeine-sensitive. On varying the free Ca2+ concentration within the caffeine-sensitive pool (by using methylenediphosphonic acid, pyrophosphate or no precipitating anion), we observed that the Ca(2+)-releasing effect of caffeine was dependent on an elevated intraluminal free Ca2+ concentration. In conclusion, the caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ store in bovine chromaffin cells is largely distinct from the InsP3-sensitive Ca2+ store, and its release mechanism shares characteristics with the ryanodine receptor of muscle cells.

Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells contain an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-insensitive but caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ store that can be regulated by intraluminal free Ca2+.

1. The preparation of isolated Malpighian tubules is described. The rate of urine flow increases with increasing serum dilution, and vice versa. Urine is almost isotonic with haemolymph over a wide range of osmotic pressure. 2. Serum collected from 3-day-old insects promotes urine formation, whereas that from 6-day-old insects does not. 3. A factor which was extracted from the m.n.c. accelerates the rate of urine flow, from a normal value of 0·87 to 3·1 mm.3 x 10- 3/min. The osmotic pressure of the urine, however, remains unchanged. 4. The hormone concentration of different parts of the nervous system was assayed with these isolated tubules. Most activity occurs in the m.n.c., but some activity is present in extracts from the c.c. and the fused ganglionic mass in the mesothorax. 5. Malpighian tubules isolated from 6-day-old insects remain inactive, but after the addition of hormone they immediately begin to produce urine. 6. These observations have been incorporated into a tentative hypothesis on the control of excretion in Dysdercus.

The physiology of excretion in the cotton stainer, dysdercus fasciatus, signoret iv. hormonal control of excretion

Calcium signal transduction and cellular control mechanisms

The response of cells to many external stimuli requires a decoding process at the membrane to transduce information into intracellular messengers. A major decoding mechanism employed by a variety of hormones, neurotransmitters and growth factors depends on the hydrolysis of a unique inositol lipid to generate two key second messengers, diacylglycerol and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3). Here I examine the second messenger function of Ins(1,4,5)P3 in controlling the mobilization of calcium. We know most about how this messenger releases calcium from internal reservoirs but less is known concerning the entry of external calcium. One interesting possibility is that Ins(1,4,5)P3 might function in conjunction with its metabolic product Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 to control calcium entry through a mechanism employing a region of the endoplasmic reticulum as a halfway house during the transfer of calcium from outside the cell into the cytoplasm. The endoplasmic reticulum interposed between the plasma membrane and the cytosol may function as a capacitor to insure against the cell being flooded with external calcium. When stimulated, cells often display remarkably uniform oscillations in intracellular calcium. At least two oscillatory patterns have been recognized suggesting the existence of separate mechanisms both of which may depend upon Ins(1,4,5)P3. In one mechanism, oscillations may be driven by periodic pulses of Ins(1,4,5)P3 produced by receptors under negative feedback control of protein kinase C. The other oscillatory mechanism may depend upon Ins(1,4,5)P3 unmasking a process of calcium-induced calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum. The function of these calcium oscillations is still unknown. This Ins(1,4,5)P3/calcium signalling system is put to many uses during the life history of a cell.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Croonian lecture, 1988. Inositol lipids and calcium signalling.

1. The sites of the transepithelial potential changes produced by 5-HT and cyclic AMP in the salivary gland of the blowfly ( Calliphora ) have been investigated. 2. Microelectrodes recorded a two-step potential profile across this epithelium. The cell was negative to both the bathing medium and the saliva. 3. The basal membrane potential was 44·0±0·2 mV and was affected very little by application of either 5-HT or cyclic AMP. 4. The apical membrane was depolarized by 5-HT and in contrast was hyperpolarized by cyclic AMP. 5. On the basis of these results it is concluded that 5-HT has two actions: ( a ) to stimulate a potassium pump on the apical membrane using cyclic AMP as an intermediary, ( b ) to increase chloride movement by a mechanism not directly involving cyclic AMP.

Michael J. Berridge

Papers

Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells contain an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-insensitive but caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ store that can be regulated by intraluminal free Ca2+.

The physiology of excretion in the cotton stainer, dysdercus fasciatus, signoret iv. hormonal control of excretion

Calcium signal transduction and cellular control mechanisms

The Croonian lecture, 1988. Inositol lipids and calcium signalling.

The Effects of 5-Hydroxytryptamine and Cyclic Amp on the Potential Profile across Isolated Salivary Glands