Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L B Chen

Publications and source records attributed to L B Chen.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Ubiquitin hybrid protein gene expression during human colon cancer progression.

Ubiquitin is involved in cell-cycle control and DNA replication through a specific proteolytic pathway. Our previous studies demonstrated selected higher expression of a gene encoding ubiquitin-ribosomal protein S27a in poorly differentiated colon carcinoma cell lines. In this study, we evaluated this ubiquitin hybrid protein gene expression in surgical specimens of colon cancers. Northern blot analysis showed that ubiquitin hybrid protein messenger RNA was overexpressed in primary colon cancers compared with adjacent normal colon mucosae in 17 of 20 patients. Dot blot analysis of RNA of 27 tumor samples revealed significantly greater expression in higher Dukes' stage primary colon tumors and liver metastases. These data imply that protein translation machinery is highly activated during progression and metastasis of colon tumors, and that ubiquitin hybrid protein may be useful as a marker of biological aggressiveness.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Electron microscopic studies of the endoplasmic reticulum in whole-mount cultured cells fixed with potassium permanganate.

A method for visualizing the endoplasmic reticulum and other membrane organelles in whole-mount cells with a standard, 60-kV transmission electron microscope has been developed. By use of a new formulation of potassium permanganate as a fixative, intracellular membranes were preserved and stained, while cytosolic proteins were digested, giving a pattern of membranous organelles against a clear background, suitable for transmission EM of whole-mount cells at 60 kV. Mitochondria, lysosomes, and ER were clearly visible in whole-mount cells fixed by this method. We have employed this technique to examine the organization of the ER in a variety of different cell lines. This method also allowed visualization of the three-dimensional organization, relationships, and fine structure of mitochondria. With prolonged permanganate fixation, mitochondrial cristae were clearly visible in whole-mount cells. This method was also useful for fixation and staining of thin sections, and allowed examination of thicker sections than previously possible, thus giving improved imaging of organelle relationships and fine structure. Using this method, we have examined the ER, mitochondria, and Golgi in thin section.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1990

Expression of a Mr 32,000 laminin-binding protein messenger RNA in human colon carcinoma correlates with disease progression.

Cell surface receptors for laminin may play an important role in tumor migration and metastasis. To evaluate laminin receptor/laminin-binding protein expression in human colon carcinoma, surgical specimens of primary colon cancers and liver metastases were examined by blot hybridization of total RNA with a complementary DNA clone which encodes a Mr 32,000 human laminin-binding protein. The mRNA level of the laminin-binding protein was higher in primary colon carcinoma than in adjacent normal colonic epithelium in 20 of 21 cases. In all 6 cases of colon cancer liver metastases, the laminin-binding protein mRNA level was more than 3-fold greater in tumor than in adjacent normal liver tissue. The tumor/normal ratio of this laminin-binding protein mRNA expression in primary colon cancer has significant correlation with Dukes' classification (P less than 0.001). Our results suggest that mRNA expression of the laminin-binding protein may be a marker of human colorectal cancer progression and biological aggressiveness.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1990

Inhibition of rodent protein kinase C by the anticarcinoma agent dequalinium.

Dequalinium has previously been shown to be an anticarcinoma agent (M. J. Weiss et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 84: 5444-5448, 1987). The present study demonstrates that it can inhibit protein kinase C-beta 1 isolated from an overproducing cell line with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 8-15 microM. Further examination of the inhibition by using structural analogues of dequalinium reveals that the length of the methylene bridge between the two quinaldinium moieties, the presence of the ring substituents, and the bipartite character of the compound each contributes to the inhibitory potency. Related studies show that the analogues display the same rank order of inhibitory potency when tested with the trypsin-generated catalytic fragment of the enzyme, indicating that dequalinium inhibits kinase activity through an interaction with the catalytic subunit. Further studies argue that the ability of a given analogue to inhibit phosphotransferase activity correlates with its ability to compete with [3H]phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate binding on the intact enzyme (50% inhibitory concentration of 2-5 microM). This suggests that the inhibitor is either binding directly to the regulatory subunit as well, or that due to its interaction with the catalytic subunit, dequalinium produces an indirect effect on sites defined by phorbol ester binding. Kinetic analysis revealed that inhibition is noncompetitive with respect to ATP or phosphatidylserine. Studies conducted with types I, II, and III rat brain isozymes, resolved by hydroxylapatite chromatography, demonstrate that dequalinium inhibits each of them with similar potency (50% inhibitory concentration of 11 microM) and imply that the site of contact on the enzyme is a highly conserved region. Morphology studies with dequalinium in intact cells demonstrate that the inhibitor can protect control cells against phorbol ester-induced morphology changes but cannot protect protein kinase C-overproducing cells, suggesting that an elevation in protein kinase C levels alone is sufficient to overturn the protection conferred by dequalinium. On the basis of these results, we propose that protein kinase C could be a critical in vivo target of dequalinium.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Alterations of gene expression in human colorectal cancer. Biological implications.

Alterations in gene expression associated with colorectal cancer have been difficult to study because mucosal cell progenitors are not available in culture. We therefore examined specific genes in approximately 100 human colon cancer cell lines using complementary DNA probes and found profound alterations and heterogenity of gene expression in human colorectal carcinoma. Our data imply that understanding human colorectal cancer will not be accomplished by studying one or two oncogenes in a limited number of cell lines or fresh human tissue. More appropriate postulates of transformation to dictate experimental design may include the investigation of proposed three-dimensional structural changes of interface chromatin or other generalized structural relationships that could predispose to an aberrant gene expression program during transformation. Furthermore, focusing on mechanisms of initiation and defining the molecular genetic markers of gastrointestinal mucosal initiation should lead to a more focused set of genetic, rather than epigenetic, mechanisms that underlie oncogenic transformation.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1990

Detection of individual fluorescently labeled reovirions in living cells.

Reovirus serotype 1 (Lang) can be conjugated with rhodamine B or fluorescein isothiocyanate in a way that preserves viral infectivity. We have used epifluorescence microscopy to detect individual virions bound to the surface of cells and to follow in real time the early stages of reovirus infection in living cells. Following uptake of the virus into endocytic vesicles, the movement of these vesicles can be observed readily. The vesicle movement is inhibited by nocodazole or colchicine, consistent with previous findings that the movement of intracellular vesicles is often microtubule-based.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Abnormalities of T cell immunoregulation in hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.

The functions of spontaneous suppressor T cells and T lymphocyte subsets in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome were compared. In the early stages of disease, decreased activity of spontaneous suppressor T cells was concurrent with increased numbers of CD8+ cells and a reversed CD4:CD8 ratio. These changes were related to abnormalities in serum C3 level and circulating immune complexes. In the recovery stages of the illness, spontaneous suppressor T cell activity and T cell subsets returned to normal levels.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1990

[Ultrastructural study of duck hepatitis B virus in biliary epithelial cells of duck liver].

Liver specimens from Shanghai Ma ducks infected with duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) were examined by immunohistochemical technique and electron microscopy. The results showed that DHBV and DHBV antigen were found not only in the hepatocytes but also in the biliary epithelial cells of infected ducks. Electron microscopy also revealed that incomplete spherical particles, 40-50 nm in diameter, were present in the dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), and complete spherical virions, 55-65 nm in diameter, existed in the cytoplasmic vesicles and cytoplasm in small amounts. The results of the present study seem to confirm the possibility of infection and replication of DHBV not only in the liver cells but also in the biliary epithelial cells of ducks.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Ultrastructural study of hepatitis B virus in biliary epithelial cells of duck liver.

Liver specimens from the Shanghai Ma ducks congenitally infected with duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) were examined by immunohistochemical technique and electron microscopy. All the 12 serum DHBV positive ducks showed varying degrees of positive straining in hepatocytes. In 8 of the 12 ducks, DHBV antigen was discovered in the cytoplasm of biliary epithelial cells. Conventional electron microscopy revealed two kinds of virus particles in the biliary epithelial cells: 1. the incomplete virus, 40-50 nm in diameter and spherical in shape with an outer membrane, located mainly in the dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum of the cells in large amounts; 2. the complete virions, 55-60 nm in diameter, were spherical with an outer membrane and located mainly in the cytoplasmic vesicles in small amount. We believe the particles found in the biliary epithelial cells in this study were DHBV particles. It is most likely that the infection and replication of DHBV not only take place in the liver cells but also in the biliary epithelial cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Aberrant mitochondria in two human colon carcinoma cell lines.

Electron micrographs of CCL237 and FET cells (two slowly growing, differentiated human colon carcinoma lines) revealed enlarged mitochondria with few cristae. Polarographic measurement of respiratory activity in mitochondria isolated from these cell lines was compared to that of CV-1 cells (a normal monkey kidney epithelial line) and MIP101 cells (another human colon carcinoma line), both of which have mitochondria with a "normal" appearance. The respiratory control ratios of CCL237 and FET mitochondria were found to be considerably lower than those of CV-1 and MIP101 mitochondria (approximately 3 as compared to greater than 10, respectively), indicating that in CCL237 and FET mitochondria the processes of substrate oxidation and phosphorylation of ADP are only loosely coupled. In intact cells, differences in radiolabeled tetraphenylphosphonium uptake showed that the mitochondrial membrane potential in CCL237 and FET cells was less than that in CV-1 and MIP101 cells, and that nigericin failed to hyperpolarize the mitochondria of CCL237 and FET cells. In addition, FET mitochondria exhibited significantly lower ADP-stimulated and uncoupled respiratory rates than mitochondria isolated from the other cell types, indicating that in the former, the capacity for oxidative phosphorylation is somehow impaired. Selective toxicity of FET cells was obtained by treatment with 2-deoxyglucose, an inhibitor of glycolysis, suggesting the possibility of exploiting the phenotype of impaired oxidative metabolism for chemotherapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Construction of the endoplasmic reticulum.

To study the construction of the ER, we used the microtubule-disrupting drug nocodazole to induce the complete breakdown of ER structure in living cells followed by recovery in drug-free medium, which regenerates the ER network within 15 min. Using the fluorescent dye 3,3'-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide to visualize the ER, we have directly observed the network construction process in living cells. In these experiments, the ER network was constructed through an iterative process of extension, branching, and intersection of new ER tubules driven by the ER motility previously described as tubule branching. We have tested the cytoskeletal requirements of this process. We find that newly formed ER tubules are aligned with single microtubules but not actin fibers or vimentin intermediate filaments. Microtubule polymerization preceded the extension of ER tubules and, in experiments with a variety of different drugs, appeared to be a necessary condition for the ER network formation. Furthermore, perturbations of the pattern of microtubule polymerization with microtubule-specific drugs caused exactly correlated perturbations of the pattern of ER construction. Induction of abnormally short, nonintersecting microtubules with 20 microM taxol prevented the ER network formation; ER tubules only extended along the few microtubules contacting the aggregated ER membranes. This requirement for a continuous network of intersecting microtubules indicates that ER network formation takes place through the branching and movement of ER membranes along microtubules. Cytochalasin B had no apparent effect on the construction of the ER network during recovery, despite apparently complete disruption of actin fibers as stained by phalloidin. Blockage of protein synthesis and disorganization of intermediate filaments with cycloheximide pretreatment also failed to perturb ER construction.

Actins↗
PubMed1989

Inhibition of bovine heart mitochondrial and Paracoccus denitrificans NADH----ubiquinone reductase by dequalinium chloride and three structurally related quinolinium compounds.

1. Dequalinium chloride (DECA) and three related quinolinium compounds inhibit bovine heart mitochondrial and Paracoccus denitrificans electron transport activity, with inhibition localized between NADH and ubiquinone in both electron transport chains. 2. Structure-activity studies reveal that two quinolinium rings and a long bridging group are necessary for significant inhibition of reduction of artificial electron acceptors and coenzyme Q, whereas only one quinolinium ring and a long hydrocarbon side chain are required for significant inhibition of NADH oxidase activity. 3. Inhibition of coenzyme Q reduction by DECA is not reversed by dialysis. 4. Studies comparing DECA inhibition of rotenone-sensitive with rotenone-insensitive preparations indicate that DECA acts by a different inhibitory mechanism than rotenone on mammalian mitochondrial and P. denitrificans NADH----ubiquinone reductase.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

A cell surface glycoprotein expressed by colorectal carcinomas including poorly differentiated, noncarcinoembryonic antigen-producing colorectal tumors.

A monoclonal antibody to a cell surface glycoprotein on human colorectal carcinomas was raised using the undifferentiated colon carcinoma cell line MIP 101 as the immunogen. This antibody, ND4, is an IgG2a which does not cross-react with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), non-specific cross-reacting antigen, or blood group substances A, B, and H. Immunoprecipitation using lysates of cells grown in [35S]methionine or [3H]glucosamine and lysates of cells surface labeled with 125I showed binding to a cell surface glycoprotein with a molecular weight of approximately 160,000. Indirect immunofluorescence showed binding to the cell surface of 14 of 15 human colorectal carcinoma cell lines including six of six that do not secrete CEA. Two of seven human noncolorectal carcinoma lines and one of six nonhuman cell lines also bound antibody. Immunoperoxidase staining of formalin-fixed tissues showed prominent antibody binding with 19 of 33 (58%) human colorectal carcinomas, including five of six poorly differentiated tumors, five of 43 (12%) normal colonic mucosal biopsies, and one of 17 (6%) normal noncolonic tissues. One of 11 (9%) noncolonic tumors, a gastric adenocarcinoma, stained with ND4. Preliminary data obtained by a nonquantitative nitrocellulose dot-immunoassay have tentatively identified this glycoprotein in the serum of 15 of 37 (41%) patients with colorectal cancer. Three of the 15 patients had early stage disease and normal CEA levels (less than 2.5 ng/ml). Three patients had circulating antigen detectable preoperatively but not after tumor resection. Only one of 11 (9%) sera samples from normal subjects was positive. The characteristics of ND4 suggest that it may be of value in monitoring patients with colorectal carcinomas who do not have plasma CEA elevations. It may also be of value in the differential diagnosis of metastatic, poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of unknown primary origin.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Dynamic behavior of endoplasmic reticulum in living cells.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was studied by fluorescence microscopy of living CV-1 cells treated with the fluorescent carbocyanine dye DiOC6(3). Using video recording and image processing techniques, several distinct forms of highly localized movements of ER were documented, categorized, and analyzed in terms of mechanism and structural implications. These include tubule branching, ring closure, and sliding. These localized movements have been observed to generate the basic elements of ER: linear tubules, polygonal reticulum, and triple junctions. We propose that as such they act as the mechanism for constructing the polygonal lattice of interconnected membrane tubules that constitutes ER. The nature of these movements suggests possible involvement of the cytoskeleton, and, in view of the close correlations in the distributions of ER and microtubules, and the accompanying paper (Dabora and Sheetz), it is possible that microtubules may play a role in generating ER motility and in constructing and maintaining the ER network in living cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Increased mRNA expression of a laminin-binding protein in human colon carcinoma: complete sequence of a full-length cDNA encoding the protein.

Reliable markers to distinguish human colon carcinoma from normal colonic epithelium are needed particularly for poorly differentiated tumors where no useful marker is currently available. To search for markers we constructed cDNA libraries from human colon carcinoma cell lines and screened for clones that hybridize to a greater degree with mRNAs of colon carcinomas than with their normal counterparts. Here we report one such cDNA clone that hybridizes with a 1.2-kilobase (kb) mRNA, the level of which is approximately equal to 9-fold greater in colon carcinoma than in adjacent normal colonic epithelium. Blot hybridization of total RNA from a variety of human colon carcinoma cell lines shows that the level of this 1.2-kb mRNA in poorly differentiated colon carcinomas is as high as or higher than that in well-differentiated carcinomas. Molecular cloning and complete sequencing of cDNA corresponding to the full-length open reading frame of this 1.2-kb mRNA unexpectedly show it to contain all the partial cDNA sequence encoding 135 amino acid residues previously reported for a human laminin receptor. The deduced amino acid sequence suggests that this putative laminin-binding protein from human colon carcinomas consists of 295 amino acid residues with interesting features. Containing only two cysteine residues, the protein does not have consensus sequences for asparagine-linked glycosylation, amphipathic alpha-helix, or the N-terminal leader signal sequences for entry into endoplasmic reticulum, although hydrophobic segments for potential membrane associations exist. There is an unusual C-terminal 70-amino acid segment, which is trypsin-resistant (no lysine or arginine) and highly negatively charged (13 aspartic plus glutamic residues). Within this segment are five repeats of (Asp/Glu)-Trp-(Ser/Thr); two of these are nearly tandem repeats of Thr-Glu-Asp-Trp-Ser-Ala-Xaa-Pro.

Amino Acid Sequence↗