Nanoscale intracellular ultrastructures affected by osmotic pressure using small-angle X-ray scattering

Although intracellular ultrastructures have typically been studied using microscopic techniques, it is difficult to observe ultrastructures at the submicron scale of living cells due to spatial resolution (fluorescence microscopy) or high vacuum environment (electron microscopy). We investigate the nanometer scale intracellular ultrastructures of living CHO cells in various osmolality using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and especially the structures of ribosomes, DNA double helix, and plasma membranes in-cell environment are observed. Ribosomes expand and contract in response to osmotic pressure, and the inter-ribosomal correlation occurs under isotonic and hyperosmolality. The DNA double helix is not dependent on the osmotic pressure. Under high osmotic pressure, the plasma membrane folds into form a multilamellar structure with a periodic length of about 6 nm. We also study the ultrastructural changes caused by formaldehyde fixation, freezing and heating.