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Biomedical subjects

J G Collard

Publications and source records attributed to J G Collard.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Sublocalization of an invasion-inducing locus and other genes on human chromosome 7.

By somatic cell fusion studies between noninvasive mouse T-lymphoma cells and invasive human activated normal T-cells we have previously shown that the genetic information responsible for the induction of invasive and metastatic potential in interspecies T-cell hybrids is located on human chromosome 7. Apparently, genes derived from normal activated T-cells are dominantly expressed in the hybrids and control the invasive and, as a consequence, metastatic potential of these T-lymphoma cells. To sublocalize the invasion-inducing locus on chromosome 7 we have generated hybrids that harbor only specific regions of human chromosome 7 with or without a small fragment of human chromosome 21. Analysis of these hybrids revealed that the invasion-inducing locus maps to 7p12----cen. The human DNA complement of the hybrids was confirmed by Southern blot analysis using a large panel of chromosome 7-specific DNA probes. Several of these genes could be further sublocalized. These included: ARAF2 to 7p12----cen, D7S21 to 7pter----p12, ACTB to 7p15----p12, EGFR to 7p12, MDH2 to 7cen----q22, and PDGFA to 7pter----p15.

Blotting, Southern

Studies on the inhibition of protein synthesis by selenodiglutathione.

Amino acid incorporation in a cell-free system derived from rat liver has previously been found to be inhibited by GSSeSG (selenodiglutathione). In the present experiments the effect of GSSeSG on protein synthesis in 3T3-f cells, on growth and protein synthesis in Escherichia coli, and on amino acid incorporation in a cell-free system derived from E. coli, was studied. GSSeSG inhibits the incorporation of [3H]leucine into protein by 3T3-f cells. This inhibition cannot be reversed by removing GSSeSG and is correlated with the uptake of GSSeSG. Sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and oxidized glutathione had no inhibitory effect in this system. [3H]Uridine or [3H]thymidine incorporation into RNA or DNA was not inhibited, indicating that the primary action of GSSeSG was on protein synthesis. GSSeSG did not influence the growth of E. coli in a synthetic medium, although enhanced amino acid incorporation was observed. In the cell-free system derived from E. coli, amino acid incorporation was not changed by GSSeSG, indicating that elongation factor G, in contrast to elongation factor 2 of mammalian cell systems, is not blocked by GSSeSG.

Amino Acids

Capping of surface immunoglobulin on 'hairy cells' is independent of energy production.

Capping, independent of metabolic energy, of surface immunoglobulin (S-Ig) on 'Hairy cells' from patients with Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) is described. As controls leukaemic cells from a patient with a prolymphocytic leukaemia (PLL) and blood lymphocytes from healthy individuals were used. The specificity of the energy-independent capping of the HCL-cells as compared to the controls was tested by incubation of the cells at 4 degrees C in the presence of 0.1 M sodium azide with different FITC-labelled ligands. In order to find an explanation for this phenomenon, the influence of cytochalasin B, colchicine and the combination of both drugs on capping of S-Ig and concanavalin (Con-A)-receptors at 37 degrees C was investigated. Furthermore the effect of Con A on S-Ig capping and vice versa was studied. The results show that only S-Ig on HCL cells could form caps at 4 degrees C in the presence of sodium-azide. Cytochalasin B alone induced a strong inhibition of Con A capping on all 3 cell types, whereas S-Ig capping was unaffected. Colchicine alone had practically no effect. Anti-Ig inhibited subsequent patch and cap formation with Con A on both HCL cells and PLL cells, whereas Con A caps and patches were redistributed by anti-Ig on PLL cells, but not on HCL cells. Conversely, Con A could link S-Ig to other receptors, leading to inhibition of S-Ig capping at 4 degrees C on HCL cells and to co-capping of S-Ig at 37 degrees C on both cell types. In addition Con A induced redistribution of S-Ig caps. The combination of co-capping of S-Ig by Con A, followed by redistribution of the caps by FITC-anti-Ig simulated inhibition of S-Ig capping by Con A on PLL cells. The major conclusions are: in some cases inhibition of capping may actually be caused by redistribution of caps; the energy-independent capping cannot be explained by free diffusion of S-Ig in the membrane through lack of any connexion with receptor-mobility regulating systems. It is proposed that the energy requirement of capping is needed to inactivate a specific mechanism,w which restrains receptor mobility and which is non-operative in HCL cells.

Adult

Decrease in 5'-nucleotidase activity in malignant transformed and normal stimulated cells.

Analysis of six different cell types of normal and transformed fibroblasts grown in vitro and of four different cell types of normal and leukemic lymphocytes grown in vivo have shown a marked decrease of 3- to 30-fold in the specific activity of 5'-nucleotidase in the malignant cells as compared to their normal parental cells. The results have also indicated that a serum stimulation of untransformed or normal fibroblasts and a stimulation of normal lymphocytes by concanavalin A resulted in a significant decrease in the specific activity of 5'-nucleotidase of the stimulated cultures as compared to the resting cells. In both the malignant cells and the stimulated normal cells, the decrease in 5'-nucleotidase activity was not accompanied by a similar decrease in the specific activity of acid phosphatase, indicating a specific enzyme alteration in the surface membranes of the transformed and the normal stimulated cells.

Animals

Cell surface microvilli and cell agglutinability.

Detached cells of some transformed mouse fibroblast lines have a villous surface whereas similarly treated cells of other lines are relatively smooth. These differences in surface morphology of detached cells are not reflected in their agglutinability with ConA and they cannot unambigously be explained from their morphology in situ. Treatments of normal and transformed Swiss mouse fibroblasts that induce marked changes in agglutinability with ConA do not cause equivalent changes in surface morphology. It is, therefore, unlikely that agglutinability of mouse fibroblasts by ConA is determined by the number of microvilli on the cell surface.

Agglutination

Surface morphology and agglutinability with concanavalin A in normal and transformed murine fibroblasts.

The surface morphology of attached and suspended normal and transformed fibroblasts has been studied with the scanning electron microscope. Normal murine fibroblasts (3T3) grow in vitro with widely extended leading lamellae. During most parts of the cell cycle the surfaces of these cells are practically free of microvilli. When the cells round up for mitosis, their cell surfaces become adorned with many microvilli. In contrast, simian virus 40-transformed fibroblasts (SV3T3) grow more compact, and their cell surfaces remain smooth throughout the life cycle. When confluent 3T3 and SV3T3 cells are suspended with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for agglutination assays, similar differences in surface morphology are found: 3T3 cells always bear many microvilli, whereas most SV3T3 cells are essentially free of microvilli. The addition of concanavalin A (Con A) does not influence the surface morphology of the suspended cells. The morphological differences described here may be important for the agglutination process of the normal and transformed 3T3 cells, because they affect the real cell surface area and thus the density of Con A-binding sites.

Agglutination Tests

Surface morphology and agglutination of lectin-treated human lymphocytes and lymphoblasts.

Two human lymphoblasts (Raji and EB3) and normal human peripheral lymphocytes were exposed to different concentrations of Concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin. The lectin-induced agglutination was determined and correlated with lectin-induced changes in the surface morphology of these cells as studied in a scanning electron microscope. Whenever the lectin induced high agglutinability in a cell type, it also invariably had a smoothing effect on the cell surface. In contrast, when cells did not agglutinate well with a certain lectin, their cell surface remained essentially rough (villous) after addition of the lectin. The correlation found between increased agglutinability and altered cell surface morphology upon treatment with certain lectins suggests that both phenomena result from one and the same process. Additional evidence for this postulate is presented.

Agglutination

Cell cycle dependent agglutinability, distribution of concanavalin A binding sites and surface morphology of normal and transformed fibroblasts.

In studies on phenotypic reversion of transformed cells to normal growth patterns, we investigated the effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbc-AMP) and a protease inhibitor (TLCK) on growth of SV40-transformed mouse fibroblasts (3T3). The results did not support the hypothesis that transformed cells grown with dbc-AMP or TLCK are induced to contact-mediated growth control. The growth rate of SV-3T3 cells grown with the drugs was strongly reduced, due to accumulation of the cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. In addition, decreased agglutinability with concanavalin A (Con A) of those SV-3T3 cells was not caused by a direct effect of the drugs on the cell surface, but by partial synchronization of the cells in the G2 phase of the cycle. In synchronized cultures agglutinability of transformed cells reached a minimum in G2 and was maximal in mitosis and G1. Normal cells agglutinated only in mitosis. This suggested that agglutinability of cells is somehow cell cycle dependent. Cytochemical investigations on normal and transformed 3T3 cells had shown that Con A-induced redistribution of binding sites on the surface of these cells is not correlated with agglutinability. The present work on replicas confirmed this, but indicated also that normal 3T3 cells have more extended lamellipodia with less Con A binding sites than SV-3T3 cells. Preliminary scanning electron microscope data showed cell cycle dependent changes in 3T3 cells and also showed that confluent 3T3 and SV-3T3 cells suspended for agglutination tests had a different surface morphology. These results may represent additional factors important for differences in cell agglutinability by Con A.

Agglutination

Differences in density of Concanavalin A-binding sites due to differences in surface morphology of suspended normal and transformed 3T3 fibroblasts.

Calculations of the density of Concanavalin A (Con A)-binding sites on normal and transformed fibroblasts have, as yet, been based on the unproven assumption that suspended cells are smooth spheres. We studied the surface morphology of suspended normal and transformed fibroblasts with scanning and transmission electron microscopes, and found a large difference in surface morphology between suspended normal and transformed 3T3 cells. When this difference in surface morphology was taken into account, the estimated cell surface area of normal 3T3 cells was approximately seven times larger than that of transformed 3T3 cells. Since equal numbers of 3H-Con A molecules are bound on normal and transformed cells, the density of Con A-binding sites is approximately seven times greater on transformed than on normal 3T3 cells. The difference in density of Con A-binding sites between normal and transformed fibroblasts might be sufficient to explain the difference in agglutination response, as originally suggested by Burger, and may also be the cause of the different degrees of clustering of Con A-binding sites on the plasma membrane of these cells.

Binding Sites

Induction of invasive and metastatic potential in mouse T-lymphoma cells (BW5147) by treatment with 5-azacytidine.

Non-invasive, non-metastatic mouse BW5147 T-lymphoma cells were treated with non-mutagenic concentrations of the hypomethylating agent 5-azacytidine (5-aza-C). Subsequently, invasive variants were selected on monolayers of rat embryo fibroblasts. The estimated frequency of induction of invasive variants was smaller than 1 in 10(6) cells. We obtained several independent clones that were stable in the expression of the invasive phenotype. In contrast to the parental cell line, the highly invasive clones produced widespread metastases upon tail vein injection in all the syngeneic AKR mice tested, whereas clones with an intermediate level of invasiveness formed metastases only in part of the mice tested. DNA analysis using the methylation-sensitive and insensitive restriction enzymes, Hpa-II and Msp-I, respectively, showed that the DNA of the invasive variants remained hypomethylated, up to 6 months after 5-aza-C treatment. 5-aza-C is thus able to induce invasive and metastatic potential in the BW5147 T-lymphoma cells, similar to the activated human c-Ha-ras oncogene or human chromosome 7, as studied previously. The acquisition of invasive and metastatic potential is presumably caused by DNA hypomethylation and thus activation of one or more silent invasion controlling genes.

Animals