Biomedical subjects

J Koropatnick

Publications and source records attributed to J Koropatnick.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1994

Activation of human monocytes with lipopolysaccharide induces metallothionein expression and is diminished by zinc.

The metal-binding protein metallothionein (MT) confers resistance to the toxic effects of metals. Although a role for MT in metal homeostasis and protection against toxic free radicals has been suggested, no clear physiological function has been established. The ability of human monocytes to be activated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment provided a model to investigate the effect of zinc on both cellular activation (H2O2 production) and MT expression. In both primary human monocytes and a monocyte-derived cell line (THP-1), LPS induced activation and MT expression; it did not induce MT expression in nonmonocyte human cells. Treatment of THP-1 cells with nontoxic zinc levels increased MT accumulation. Subsequent treatment with LPS resulted in a decrease in both MT mRNA and protein levels and inhibited the ability of THP-1 cells to undergo the respiratory burst. Pretreatment with cadmium had the same inhibitory effect. We conclude that MT expression is associated with monocyte activation, and exposure to zinc or cadmium interferes with the ability of monocytes to respond to activation signals. Metallothionein may play a role in that response.

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PubMed1994

Role of metallothionein in carcinogenesis.

Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight protein (6800 Da) and one-third of its amino acids are cysteine residues. The 20 cysteines coordinate 7 metal atoms (zinc, copper, and/or cadmium). This protein is extremely inducible by metals as well as a number of organic compounds. MT is though to be an important intracellular storage site for zinc and possibly other essential trace elements. In addition, tolerance to cadmium toxicity is often due to the induction of MT, which sequesters cadmium and lowers its concentration at critical intracellular sites. Recently it has been proposed that MT might play important roles in several aspects of the carcinogenic process. In this context a symposium was held recently on this topic at the 1993 Annual Society of Toxicology Meeting. At this symposium Dr. Cherian discussed the expression of MT in various human tumors and its use as a potential marker of tumor differentiation or cell proliferation. Dr. Imura provided data illustrating that induction of MT can be used as an adjunct in cancer chemotherapy, in preventing toxicity caused by gamma-irradiation or cisplatin (CDDP) and other chemotherapeutics. Induction of MT has been suggested to be an important mechanism of resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents, such as CDDP. This is controversial, and various views on this topic were presented by Drs. Howell, Lazo, and Koropatnick. Dr. Waalkes then discussed the role of MT in the carcinogenic and anticarcinogenic effects of metals.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Antisense down-regulation of metallothionein in a human monocytic cell line alters adherence, invasion, and the respiratory burst.

A human monocyte-derived cell line (THP-1) was used as a model to investigate the role of metallothionein (MT) in the cellular physiology of resting and activated monocytes. MT protein levels were reduced in THP-1 cells by transient transfections with an antisense MT expression vector. Antisense mouse MT-1 RNA was constitutively expressed under the control of the H-2Kb (mouse major histocompatibility complex I) promoter and could be further induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. THP-1 cells expressing antisense MT RNA (aMT-THP-1) had a 30% reduction in MT protein levels. In the absence of LPS treatment, aMT-THP-1 cells demonstrated increased production of H2O2 concurrent with enhanced adherence and invasiveness compared to cells transfected with the control vector (cv-THP-1). Treatment of aMT-THP-1 cells with LPS depressed these activation-associated responses and further reduced the level of MT protein. cv-THP-1 cells activated by LPS produced high levels of H2O2 and adhered to and invaded a reconstituted basement membrane. In addition to increasing cadmium sensitivity, diminished MT levels affected broad-ranging processes associated with resting and activated monocyte function. Thus, metallothionein plays an important physiological role in cells in addition to its role in detoxification of heavy metals.

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PubMed1993

A mutant mouse (tx) with increased hepatic metallothionein stability and accumulation.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are low-molecular-mass cysteine-rich proteins implicated in metal homoeostasis and resistance to toxicity induced by heavy metals and alkylating agents. We report high hepatic MT protein accumulation (greater than 100-fold compared with wild-type mice) in toxic milk (tx) mice, along with markedly higher cytosol copper and zinc levels. Increased MT-gene transcription alone could not account for the high constitutive MT protein levels, since MT mRNA levels were not increased in tx mouse livers. However, hepatic MT was significantly more stable in adult tx mice: MT half-life (t1/2) was 79 or 77% greater than in wild-type mice before and after Cd induction respectively. Cd or Zn treatment increased MT mRNA, but not MT protein, accumulation in tx mouse livers: Cd displaced MT-bound Zn and Cu in preexisting MT. Thus tx mice appear to accumulate hepatic MT as a result of decreased protein degradation. These animals may provide a useful model to study the physiological role of MT, and human diseases (such as Wilson's disease) with abnormal copper metabolism.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Altered cisplatin and cadmium resistance and cell survival in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing mouse metallothionein.

Metallothionein (MT) proteins are associated with resistance to the toxic effects of heavy metals, chemotherapeutic drugs, and alkylating agents. It has been suggested that MT may mediate both resistance to toxic agents and cellular metal homeostasis. To study the role of MT, we obtained cells expressing a range of MT levels in the absence of heavy metal induction. We cotransfected the eukaryotic G418 resistance vector pSV2neo and mouse MT-1 cDNA in a pBR322 vector into Chinese hamster ovary cells. Of 200 transfected clonal cell populations, five had constitutive MT expression ranging from 31 to 87 ng of MT/mg of protein. All five populations had increased resistance to cadmium but were less resistant to cisplatin than control cells. On the other hand, the level of foreign MT expression correlated well with the degree of cisplatin resistance among the five clones. Resistance to ionizing radiation and growth rate in the absence of drug or radiation treatment were not affected. However, transfected MT gene expression inhibited the ability of Chinese hamster ovary cells to form colonies in the absence of toxic drug treatment (r = -0.95). The perturbation of cisplatin sensitivity after genetic alteration of MT expression indicates a role for MT in drug resistance: however, the fact that transfected MT gene expression decreased rather than increased drug resistance and decreased plating efficiency in the absence of drug implies that the role of MT may not be one of simply "scavenging" toxic molecules. These data suggest a role for MT in homeostatic cellular processes that, when distributed by transfection of active MT genes, have an effect on cellular drug resistance.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Production of a bifunctional hybrid molecule B72.3/metallothionein-1 by protein engineering.

A hybrid anti-tumour B72.3 antibody/metallothionein protein B72.3MT-1 was produced by the construction of the expression vector mpSV2neo-EP1-B72.3MT-1. This vector contained the neo gene as a selection marker, the murine immunoglobulin promoter and enhancer, and the hybrid B72.3 heavy chain gene fragment with mouse metallothionein-1 cDNA gene ligated into its CH2 domain. The expression vector was transfected to the heavy chain loss mutant B72.3Mut(K) cell line. The hybrid protein B72.3MT-1 was purified from transfectant supernates using a Protein G column. We showed that the hybrid protein retained the binding reactivity for the TAG72 antigen as the original B72.3 antibody, and the metal-binding capacity of the native metallothionein molecule. Therefore, the bifunctional hybrid protein B72.3MT-1 may be very useful in cancer imaging when labelled with radionuclides such as 99mTc.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1992

Arsenic induces and enhances rat hepatic metallothionein production in vivo.

Metallothionein genes (MT) are inducible by a variety of agents, including heavy metals. We report the induction of MT expression by arsenite (As3+) in rat liver in vivo. As3+ (but not arsenate [As5+]) injection increased MT protein and MT-1 and MT-2 mRNA accumulation in liver only, but not in kidney or pancreas. In addition, As3+ enhanced zinc-induced MT protein accumulation in liver without any increase in MT mRNA levels. These data indicate that arsenic may increase MT expression either directly (by inducing MT mRNA accumulation), or indirectly by altering post-transcriptional events. This constitutes an unusual mechanism of enhancement of MT gene expression and appears to be mediated by processes not specifically associated with binding of arsenite to MT in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Radioimmunoassay of metallothionein in rabbit, rat, mouse, Chinese hamster, and human cells.

We describe a competitive, solid-phase radioimmunoassay for metallothionein, which employs a rabbit antiserum directed against rat MT-2 to detect metallothionein (MT) from several different species (rabbit, mouse, rat, Chinese hamster, and human). The lower limit of detection of the assay for rat MT-2 was 0.7 ng; for rabbit MT-2 it was 2 ng. The method is capable of measuring both isoforms of MT (MT-1 and MT-2). When MT levels in rat and mouse tissues were estimated with this RIA and the silver-saturation method, both assays gave the same pattern of MT induction in control and cadmium-treated animals. Both methods measured high levels of MT in human liver samples. Chinese hamster ovary cells induced with cadmium also showed elevated MT expression. The detectability of MTs from a broad range of species is facilitated by the use of solid-phase MT, which has an avidity for the antiserum similar to that of the MT in the tested sample.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Zinc treatment, metallothionein expression, and resistance to cisplatin in mouse melanoma cells.

Metallothioneins (MTs) protect cells from the toxic effects of heavy metals. It has been suggested that they play a role in cellular resistance to alkylating agents and ionizing radiation because of the coincidence of cadmium- and drug-resistance and by virtue of the reactivity of MT with free radicals. We report the analysis of mouse B16 melanoma cell lines with high and low constitutive MT expression. In these cells, both cisplatin and cadmium resistance were associated with constitutive MT accumulation in the absence of heavy-metal induction. However, in cells with high constitutive MT expression (where zinc treatment did not induce increased MT expression), cisplatin resistance, but not cadmium resistance, was increased approximately twofold by zinc treatment. Methotrexate resistance also was increased by zinc treatment in some cases. We conclude that MT is associated with cisplatin resistance, but that effects of heavy-metal treatment other than MT induction are also responsible for cisplatin and methotrexate, but not cadmium, resistance.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Induction of metallothionein synthesis by zinc in cadmium pretreated rats.

The ability of zinc (Zn) salts to induce the synthesis of metallothionein (MT) in liver, kidney and pancreas of rats pretreated with cadmium (Cd) salts was investigated. Twenty-four hours after either CdCl2 (2.0 mg Cd/kg, s.c.) or saline pretreatment, rats were injected with saline, CdCl2 (2.0 mg Cd/kg, s.c.) or ZnSO4 (20 mg Zn/kg, s.c.) and the concentrations of MT and MT-1 mRNA in tissues subsequently measured. After a single injection of Cd salts, concentrations of MT and MT-1 mRNA were significantly increased in liver as compared to control. With two injections of Cd, the accumulation of MT in liver was approximately twice the levels of MT following a single injection of Cd. In kidney, MT and MT-1 mRNA expression were significantly increased only after two injections of Cd and in the pancreas, Cd injections did not alter either MT content or MT-1 mRNA expression. Treatment with Zn salts increased MT concentrations in both liver and pancreas. However, the pancreas was the most responsive to injections of Zn salts as compared to the liver in terms of increases in both protein concentration and MT-1 mRNA expression. When Zn injection was preceded by a Cd injection, induction as measured by MT-1 mRNA and MT concentrations were approximately additive in liver. In kidney, although Cd or Zn treatment separately had no effect on MT or MT-1 mRNA content, injection of Cd followed by Zn resulted in significantly increased levels of renal MT and MT-1 mRNA. Fractionation of liver cytosols on a Sephadex G-75 column revealed that in animals receiving two injections of Cd, virtually all the Cd was associated with MT whereas Zn was distributed between both high molecular weight (HMW) proteins and MT. In animals receiving both Cd and Zn injections, cytosolic Cd was still bound predominantly to the MT fraction, while the proportion of cytosolic Zn associated with MT increased. The results of this study suggest that, treatment with Cd salts followed by Zn salt injection can induce further synthesis of MT in liver, kidney and pancreas with subsequent binding of both Zn and Cd to the intracellular MT.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Spontaneous and radiation-induced genetic instability of heteromyeloma hybridoma cells.

We have examined the genetic stability of heteromyeloma cells both spontaneously and following ionizing radiation. Clones of E10 cells (SHM-D33 heteromyeloma X human lymphoblastoid) were examined for the stability of human immunoglobulin (Ig) production (mu, lambda), relative human and mouse DNA, and total DNA content. The stability of recloned E10 cells was improved more than fourfold relative to the stability of the nascent E10 cells. The spontaneous loss of human Ig production in the established E10 cells was approximately 1.5 x 10(-3) events/cell per generation, which is comparable to mouse hybridomas. In contrast to the relative stability of antibody production, the relative human DNA content of antibody producing clones of E10.26 cells showed considerable variation (median, 15%; range, 4 to 23% for 30 clones) although the total DNA content of the clones was relatively constant (1.2(+/- 0.1) x 10(-12)g/cell). The frequency of Ig(mu-) antibody loss variants was increased in three subclones of E10 cells following irradiation (P less than 0.05, 20 to 90 Ig(mu-) variants/10(5) cells per Gray. In addition, the human DNA content per cell was significantly reduced (P less than 0.001) in a sample of irradiated E10 clones, while the total DNA content per cell was constant. We conclude that, although the antibody production is relatively stable in heteromyeloma cells, the relative human DNA content is constantly drifting by small amounts while maintaining a constant DNA content.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Organ-specific metallothionein induction in mice by X irradiation.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are induced in cultured cells and experimental animal tissues by a variety of chemical agents. We report that whole-body X irradiation (1 to 80 Gy) induces MT-1 mRNA transcription and protein expression and accumulation in liver but not in kidney or spleen. The degree of induction was comparable to maximum levels achieved after treatment with metal salts, but the peak of MT-1 mRNA and protein accumulation was approximately 10 h later than with treatment with metal salts and remained high for an extended period. Because of the lack of induction of MT-1 by X rays in cultured cells, and the similarity of the tissue pattern of MT induction between X rays and other agents that also do not induce MT expression in cultured cells, it appears that these agents may act through the mediation of tissue-specific factors. The implications of radiation-induced metallothionein synthesis and organ-specific resistance to cellular damage are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Exposure to different forms of cadmium in mice: differences in metallothionein and alphafetoprotein mRNA induction in liver and kidney.

Cadmium (Cd) exposure in mice induces transcription of metallothionein (MT) mRNA and protein accumulation in both liver and kidney. Resistance to hepatotoxicity through chronic exposure to heavy metals is the result of this induction. However, the same chronic exposure results in damage to kidney. We report here that acute exposure of mice to Cd as cadmium sulfate (CdSO4), which resulted in preferential accumulation of metal in liver, or Cd-metallothionein (CdMT), which resulted in preferential metal accumulation in kidney, induced MT mRNA accumulation in both liver and kidney. However, MT mRNA accumulated to a level twofold higher in liver than in kidney in response to CdSO4. Equivalent doses of CdMT induced MT mRNA accumulation to an equal degree in kidney and liver. While MT mRNA accumulation in kidney was directly proportional to the amount of cadmium in the organ, this was not the case in liver. There, liver MT mRNA was elevated in the absence of elevated tissue cadmium levels. Interestingly, CdMT induced alphafetal protein (AFP) mRNA accumulation in kidney, but not liver. It appears that (a) maximal MT mRNA accumulation in kidney is less than in liver, and (b) liver is capable of accumulating MT mRNA in response to even very low cadmium exposure that may not result in elevated tissue cadmium.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Differential toxicity of cis and trans isomers of dichlorodiammineplatinum.

Nephrotoxicity is the dose-limiting toxic effect of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (cis-platin) in humans. Its stereoisomer transplatin does not have any toxicity at equimolar concentrations, and it also possesses little antitumor activity. In this study, subcellular localization of both the platinum isomers was examined in the liver and kidney of the mouse 24 hours following the drug administration. Levels of the platinum isomers were measured using flameless atomic absorption. The results showed that higher concentrations of the cis isomer were localized in the liver and kidney, while the concentration of the trans isomer was higher in blood. This indicates that trans isomer is sequestered in the central compartment, whereas cis isomer is distributed in the organs. We also measured metallothionein mRNA and protein levels in both liver and kidney following cisdichlorodiammineplatinum and transdichlorodiammine-platinum treatment to distinguish if the differential toxicity of the two stereoisomers could be related to metallothionein induction. We report here that cisplatin was capable of inducing metallothionein expression in mice in vivo and that there is an inverse relationship between metallothionein expression and the pattern of tissue toxicity induced by the drug.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Amplification of metallothionein-1 genes in mouse liver cells in situ: extra copies are transcriptionally active.

We have reported previously (J. Koropatnick et al., Nucleic Acids Res 13:5423-5439, 1985) that metallothionein-1 (MT-1) genes in adult mouse liver undergo a two- to three-fold increase in average copy number within 6 hr of treatment of mice with high levels of cadmium salts. The extra copies persist for at least 3 weeks in the absence of subsequent doses of cadmium. We report here that amplified MT-1 genes, which are relatively nuclease resistant early (6 hr) after induction, undergo a change in chromatin structure that renders them nuclease sensitive within 3 days. The change in chromatin structure is accompanied by an increase in the rate of transcription of MT-1 genes to a level approximately twofold higher than that maximally inducible in mouse liver with low MT-1 gene copy number. These data indicate that extra copies of MT-1 genes induced to appear in adult mouse liver cells in situ are, like their counterpart in cultured somatic cells, transcriptionally competent and inducible. However, post-transcriptional events (possibly specific degradation of MT-1 mRNA) have an adverse effect on the level of gene expression at the mRNA level. Two possible mechanisms to explain the appearance of amplified MT-1 genes in organs in situ after heavy metal treatment are discussed. First, de novo amplification of extra MT-1 genes in all, or a subset, of mouse liver cells may be responsible. Alternatively, a portion of mouse liver cells that already possess extra MT-1 genes might be selected for preferential DNA replication.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Extensive loss of human DNA accompanies loss of antibody production in heteromyeloma hybridoma cells.

Several human B-cell hybridomas produced by fusion with the mouse X human partner (SHM-D33), and previously assessed for stability of human monoclonal antibody production, have now been assessed for (1) presence of structural genes coding for human immunoglobulin, (2) amount of human DNA, and (3) the rate of loss of human DNA. We found that the proportion of human DNA in clonal populations derived from parental hybridoma populations was extremely variable. Human DNA content varied from 20% to 50% in antibody-producing hybridoma clones. However, loss of antibody production is accompanied by loss of structural immunoglobulin genes and an accelerated loss of greater than 95% of the human component of the hybridoma DNA. In one hybridoma clone, the measured rate of depletion of cellular human DNA was dramatically increased soon after loss of antibody production. These data suggest that stability of human antibody production in hybridomas is dependent on the ability of hybridomas to retain human DNA, and that there is clonal heterogeneity with respect to this ability within hybridoma populations.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Nuclease sensitivity of alpha-fetoprotein, metallothionein-1, and immunoglobulin gene sequences in mouse during development.

The production of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and metallothionein-1 (MT-1) in mouse tissues follows a well-defined developmental pattern. The genes for these proteins are highly transcribed in embryo liver but transcribed at a very low rate in adult liver and in brain at all stages of development. A dot hybridization procedure was defined for quantitative screening for AFP, MT-1, immunoglobulin, and satellite DNA sequences to determine the relative degree of micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of these DNA sequences in fetal, newborn, and adult liver and brain, and the visceral yolk sac of the embryo. It was found that, for the DNA sequences assayed, three distinct chromatin conformations exist. DNA that does not code for protein (satellite DNA) was highly resistant to nuclease cleavage. DNA that codes for protein, but is not available for transcription (unrearranged immunoglobulin (C mu) genes in brain, liver, and yolk sac) was fourfold more sensitive to cleavage than were satellite DNA sequences. A further sevenfold increase in nuclease sensitivity was detected in genes actively being transcribed (MT-1 and AFP genes in embryo liver). Quiescent MT-1 and AFP genes were intermediate in nuclease-sensitivity between active genes and unrearranged C mu genes. These data indicate that MT-1 and AFP genes are permanently established in a nuclease-sensitive chromatin conformation early in liver development, and that conformation is maintained regardless of the degree of transcription of the genes. A second, reversible change in chromatin structure occurs in step with changes in the degree of developmentally regulated expression of AFP and MT-1 genes.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Acute treatment of mice with cadmium salts results in amplification of the metallothionein-1 gene in liver.

A variety of genes have been shown to change copy number during development, including rRNA genes in amphibians and chorion proteins in insects. Dihydrofolate reductase and metallothionein-1 (MT-1) genes are present in high copy number in cultured mammalian cells subjected to low levels of agents that will select for cells with amplified copies of specific genes. Recent studies have shown that the metallothionein-1 gene in mouse liver is regulated at the transcriptional level by treatment with heavy metals. We report here that, at cadmium concentrations 5 to 10-fold higher than that required to induce maximal transcription of the MT-1 gene, there is a 2 to 3-fold increase in MT-1 gene concentration in liver nuclear DNA by 6 hours after induction, and extra copies persist up to 3 weeks in the absence of further heavy metal treatment. The extra MT-1 gene copies that appear 6 hours after cadmium treatment are in a conformation that renders them relatively nuclease insensitive.

Animals↗