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G G Guidotti

Publications and source records attributed to G G Guidotti.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Effect of cell density on growth rate and amino acid transport in simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells.

Rate of proliferation and amino acid transport were assessed in simian virus 40 (SV40)-transformed 3T3 cells by measurements of growth rate quotient and L-serine uptake via System ASC, respectively. Growth rate and cell density of the cultures were varied by modifying: (a) the number of cells initially plated; and (b) the period spent by the cells in culture. The growth rate quotient of SV40 3T3 cells was not correlated with cell density. Sparse cultures exhibited marked fluctuations in their growth rate as a function of time, whereas, under comparable conditions, crowded cultures retained some form of growth control by density. Transport activity by System ASC decreased as a function of increased cell density following a complex trend described by a double-exponential equation. The density-dependent decrease in amino acid transport was not accompanied by a parallel change in the rate of cell proliferation. These results indicate that alterations in amino acid transport are not linked with cell growth and suggest that an increase in transport activity is not a prerequisite for an optimal rate of proliferation in SV40-transformed 3T3 cells.

Animals↗

Adaptive regulation of amino acid transport in cultured human fibroblasts. Sites and mechanism of action.

The regulation of the transport of neutral amino acids across the cell membrane by adaptive mechanisms has been studied in cultured human fibroblasts. Among the three transport systems (A, ASC, and L) individually discriminated, only the Na+-dependent System A was subject to adaptive regulation, showing enhancement of its activity when the cells were incubated under conditions of amino acid shortage (derepression phase) and decrease of its activity when the cells were exposed to a medium supplied with Site A-reactive amino acids (repression phase). Starvation-induced derepression of transport activity and its reversal by amino acid refeeding required active RNA and protein synthesis. Derepression involved an early mRNA synthesis which started within 30 min from the abrupt change in extracellular amino acid concentration and apparently lasted 90 min. The transcribed mRNA was rather stable and translatable for a few hours (presumably into transport proteins) in cells maintained in the absence of amino acids. Repression by amino acid refeeding also involved an early mRNA synthesis, the product of its translation being presumably a protein capable of causing degradation or inactivation of transport proteins. The rate of decay in transport activity of previously derepressed cells was somewhat faster in the presence of added Site A-reactive amino acids than in their absence. A model is proposed in which the concentration of Site A-reactive amino acids affects transport activity of System A by modulating transcription of mRNA species coding for transport proteins and their putative inactivators and by regulating the efficiency of transport protein inactivation at the cell membrane.

Amino Acids↗

The transport of neutral amino acids in cultured human fibroblasts.

The transport of neutral amino acids and their interactions for uptake have been studied in skin-derived-diploid human fibroblasts cultured at confluency. Properly timed preincubations in a medium defined in composition and requirements have been adopted to control size of internal amino acid pools and regulatory interferences affecting amino acid transport. L-Proline, L-alanine, and L-leucine were used as natural amino acid substrates. Amino acid uptake and exchange with preaccumulated molecules have been measured under conditions approaching initial entry rates in the absence and in the presence of Na+ and of transport-specific model substrates. Cultured human fibroblasts were found to contain three neutral amino acid transport systems: A, ASC, and L. L-Proline was taken up preferentially by System A. System ASC appeared to mediate the largest fraction of L-Leucine entered the cells mainly by the Na+-independent System L. Preaccumulation of the cells with Site A-reactive amino acids caused trans-inhibition of the activity of System A. The activity of System L was strongly trans-stimulated in cells preloaded with Site L-reactive amino acids. The inward transport of L-alanine was trans-inhibited by internal Site A-reactive amino acids and trans-stimulated by preaccumulated L-alanine exchanging with the external amino acid through the operation of System ASC.

Alanine↗

Cell density and amino acid transport in 3T3, SV3T3, and SV3T3 revertant cells.

The transport of selected neutral and cationic amino acids has been studied in Balb/c 3T3, SV3T3, and SV3T3 revertant cell lines. After properly timed preincubations to control the size of internal amino acid pools, the activity of systems A, ASC, L, and Ly+ has been discriminated by measurements of amino acid uptake (initial entry rate) in the presence and absence of sodium and of transport-specific model substrates. L-Proline, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, and glycine were primarily taken up by system A; L-alanine and L-serine by system ASC; L-phenylalanine by system L; and L-lysine by system Ly+ in SV3T3 cells. L-Proline and L-serine were also preferential substrates of systems A and ASC, respectively, in 3T3 and SV3T3 revertant cells. Transport activity of the Na+-dependent systems A and ASC decreased markedly with the increase of cell density, whereas the activity of the Na+-independent systems L and Ly+ remained substantially unchanged. The density-dependent change in activity of system A occurred through a mechanism affecting transport maximum (Vmax) rather than substrate concentration for half-maximal velocity (Km). Transport activity of systems A and ASC was several-fold higher in transformed SV3T3 cells than in 3T3 parental cells at all the culture densities that could be compared. In SV3T3 revertant cells, transport activity by these systems remained substantially similar to that observed in transformed SV3T3 cells. The results presented here add cell density as a regulatory factor of the activity of systems A and ASC, and show that this control mechanism of amino acid transport is maintained in SV40 virus-transformed 3T3 cells that have lost density-dependent inhibition of growth, as well as in SV3T3 revertant cells that have resumed it.

Amino Acids↗

Insulin regulation of amino acid transport in mesenchymal cells from avian and mammalian tissues.

Insulin regulation of amino acid transport across the cell membrane was studied in a variety of mesenchymal cell directly isolated from avian and mammalian tissues or collected from confluent cultures. Transport activity of the principal systems of mediation in the presence and absence of insulin was evaluated by measuring the uptake of representative amino acids under conditions approaching initial entry rates. Insulin enhanced the transport rate of substrate amino acids from the A system(alpha-aminoisobutyric acid, L-proline, glycine, L-alanine and L-serine) in fibroblasts and osteoblasts from chick-embryo tissues, in mesenchymal cells (fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells) from immature rat uterus, in thymic lymphocytes from young rats and in chick-embryo fibroblasts from confluent secondary cultures. In these tissues, the uptake of amino acid substrates of transport systems L and Ly+ (L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-lysine) was not affected by the presence of the hormone. No insulin control of amino acid transport was detected in chick-embryo chondroblasts and rat peritoneal macrophages. These observations identify the occurrence of hormonal regulatory patterns of amino acid transport for different mesenchymal cells types and indicate that these properties emerge early during cell differentiation.

Amino Acids↗

Adaptive regulation of amino acid transport across the cell membrane in avian and mammalian tissues.

The regulation of amino acid transport across the cell membrane by adaptive mechanisms has been studied in a variety of mesenchymal and epithelial cells and tissues of avian and mammalian origin. Changes in transport activity as a function of time under various in vitro conditions (amino acid dependence, active and inhibited protein synthesis) have been evaluated by measurements of initial entry rates with representative amino acids. Results and conclusions based on the adopted experimental approach include the following. (1) An adaptive control mechanism for the transport of neutral amino acids corresponding to the typical substrates of the A mediation is operative in (a) mesenchymal cells (fibroblasts, chondroblasts, osteoblasts and myoblasts) from embryonic tissues of avian (chick embryo) origin and (b) mesenchymal cells from immature rat uterus (fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells) and other mammalian tissues (cardiac cells from newborn mouse and rat heart). (2) Adaptive regulation is restricted to a discrete subgroup of amino acids (L-proline, glycine and the analogue alpha-aminoisobutyric acid) in rat peritoneal macrophages and thymic lymphocytes. (3) Adaptive regulation is absent in erythroid cells (human erythrocytes, rabbit erythrocytes and reticulocytes, avian erythrocytes) which lack the A mediation and are incapable of active gene transcription. (4) Adaptive regulation is absent in the epithelial kidney cortex tissue and possibly absent in the epithelial component of liver tissue from adult rats; it is fully operative in the chick embryo crystalline lens, i.e. an epithelial preparation of embryonic origin. (5) These observations indicate that adaptive control mechanisms of amino acid transport across the cell membrane are quite common among tissues and species and emphasize their broad biological significance in eukaryotes.

Amino Acids↗