Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L Siminovitch

Publications and source records attributed to L Siminovitch.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Isolation and partial characterization of three methotrexate-resistant phenotypes from Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Three mechanisms for resistance to methotrexate (Mtx) have been identified in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells selected from resistance to this drug. First-step selections produce cells with either an apparent structural alteration in the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (class I), or a decreased permeability to the drug (class II). Mutagenesis with ethyl methanesulfonate increases the proportion of Mtx-resistant cells 5-10-fold. Second-step selections to higher resistance using class I resistant cells as parents results in cells with an increased activity of the reductase enzyme (class III) with no apparent further qualitative alterations in the enzyme. All three classes of resistant cells retain their Mtx-resistant phenotype when cultured under nonselectivve conditions.

Cell Line↗

Selection and characterization of Chinese hamster ovary cells resistant to the cytotoxicity of lectins.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells selected in a single step for resistance to the cytotoxicity of the lectin from red kidney beans (PHA) behave as authentic somatic cell mutants. The PHA-resistant (Phar) phenotype is stable in the absence of selection; its frequency in a sensitive-population is increased several-fold by mutagenesis; and it behaves recessively in somatic cell hybrids. The activity of a specific glycosyl transferase which transfers N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) to terminal alpha-mannose residues is dramatically reduced (less than or equal to 5% of the activity detected in wild-type CHO cells) in several independent PhaR clones. These clones also exhibit (a) a decreased ability to bind [125I]-PHA; (b) a marked resistance to the cytotoxicity of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), Ricin (RIC) and Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA); (c) a 4- to 5-fold increased sensitivity to the cytoxocity of concanavalin A (Con A); (d) an increased ability to bind 125I-Con A; and (e) decreased surface galactose residues - all properties consistent with the specific loss of the GlcNAc transferase activity. The lectins WGA, RIC, LCA and Con A have also been used to select, in a single step, resistance closes from each of two complementary CHO auxitrophic lines. These lectin-resistant clones have been characterized by their ability to survive cytotoxic doses of PHA, Con A, WGA, RIC, or LCA, and 4-5 "lectin-resistance" phenotypes have been demonstrated. Complementation data is being sought by somatic cell hybridization. Preliminary results show that two phenotypically-distinct Con AR mutants are complementary in that hybrid cells formed between them exhibit wild-type sensitivity to Con A.

Cell Line↗

Genetic characterization of methotrexate-resistant chinese hamster ovary cells.

In a previous report, we described the selection and partial characterization of three methotrexate (Mtx)-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO) (1). Class I cells contained an apparent structural alteration in dihydrofolate reductase. Class II cells had an alteration affecting the permeability of the drug. Class III cells, selected from Class I cells, had an increased activity of the altered enzyme. In the work described here, it has been shown that the spontaneous mutation rate to Class I resistance is in the order of 2 X 10-9 mutations per locus per generation and that in single-step mutagenized selections the number of resistant colonies of Class I and II are about equal. Class I and Class III resistance is expressed codominantly in somatic cell hybrids, whereas the Class II resistant marker is a recessive trait.

Animals↗

The isolation and preliminary characterization of somatic cell mutants resistant to the protein synthesis inhibitor-emetine.

Emetine reversibly inhibits protein synthesis in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Stable mutants which are 20-80 fold more resistant to the cytotoxic action of the drug can be isolated in a single step at a frequency of about 2-5 X 10(-7). The frequency of such mutants is increased 30-50 fold by ethyl methane sulphonate mutagenesis, and the spontaneous rate of mutation to emetine resistance as measured by Luria-Delbruck fluctuation analyses is 4.9 X 10(-7) mutations per locus per generation. Protein synthesis in extracts of the mutant cells is resistant to the inhibitory action of the emetine, indicating that the molecular lesion in these cells lies in the protein synthesis machinery.

Cell Line↗

The RNA polymerase II of an alpha-amanitin-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell line.

Amal, an alpha-amanitin-resistant mutant of the Chinese hamster ovary cell line, contains an RNA polymerase activity which elutes from DEAE-Sephadex at a salt concentration characteristic of an RNA polymerase II, but which is not sensitive to alpha-amanitin at levels where the polymerase II of wild-type cells is strongly inhibited. This result suggests that Amal owes its amanitin-resistant phenotype to a mutation affecting one of its genes for RNA polymerase II. To test this hypothesis, we purified the enzyme from Amal and then compared its properties with those of the wild-type enzyme. The mutant enzyme is indeed a polymerase II, and is over 600 times less sensitive to alpha-amanitin and more thermolabile than the wild-type enzyme.

Amanitins↗

Selection by [3H] amino acids of CHO-cell mutants with altered leucyl- and asparagyl-transfer RNA synthetases.

Efficient selection procedures, using [3H]amino acids as the selecting agent, were developed for isolating temperature-sensitive (TS) mutations in CHO cells affecting protein synthesis. After chemical mutagenesis, leucyl-tRNA synthetase mutants were obtained when [3H]leucine was used as the selecting agent in two independent experiments. These mutations seem to involve the same genetic locus as the TSH1 mutant described previously (1). A selection with [3H]valine, in which all amino acids except leucine were at low concentration in the selective medium, resulted in a new class of mutants with reduced asparagyl-tRNA synthetase activity. These results were consistent with the finding that all mutants were phenotypically dependent on the concentration of amino acid, specific to the altered synthetase, in the medium. Our observations suggest that although leucyl synthetase mutations are a relatively common class of TS mutations in CHO cells, the spectrum of mutants obtained can be at least partially manipulated through concentrations of amino acids in selective media. The asparagyl-synthetase mutation was shown to be recessive and to complement the leucyl-synthetase mutation in cell-cell hybrids.

Amino Acids↗

Stable alterations at the cell membrane of Chinese hamster ovary cells resistant to the cytotoxicity of phytohemagglutinin.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells selected for resistance to the cytotoxicity of phytohemagglutin (PHA) have been found to exhibit stable alterations at their plasma membranes. The PHA-resistant (PhaR) cells bind markedly less 125I-PHA than do sensitive CHO cells and also exhibit an increased sensitivity to the cytotoxicity of concanavalin A, a lectin of different receptor specificity. Mutagenesis with ethylmethanesulfonate increases the proportion of PhaR cells 20- to 100-fold. PHA-resistant cells maintained for up to 8 months in continuous culture in the absence of the selective agent have retained the PhaR phenotype. These and other characteristics of the experimental system suggest that CHO cells selected for PHA resistance are authentic somatic cell mutants. The Pha marker appears to behave recessively in hybrids formed between PhaR and PhaS cells.

Animals↗

Selection and characterization of eight phenotypically distinct lines of lectin-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell.

Clones resistant to the lectins phytohemagglutinin (PHA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), the agglutinin(s) from Lens culinaris (LCA), and ricin (RIC) have been selected from parental auxotrophic Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The sensitivity to other lectins of these cells and of CHO cells resistant to concanavalin A (ConA) has been determined, and their activity of UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine glycoprotein N-acetyl-glucosaminyltransferase (GlcNAc-T) has been measured. At least 8 different phenotypes have been identified on the basis of this analysis, and complementation between 2 of them demonstrated.

Cell Division↗

Alpha-amanitin resistance: a dominant mutation in CHO cells.

Hybrids of CHO cells were constructed consisting of either a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of alpha-amanitin-resistant and sensitive cells, respectively. The resistance of such hybrids to killing by the drug was similar but slightly less than that of the resistant parent. The hybrids contained both resistant and wild-type RNA polymerase II, in amounts related to the expected gene dosage. The alpha-amanitin marker therefore is expressed codominantly.

Amanitins↗

Chinese hamster ovary cells selected for resistance to the cytotoxicity of phytohemagglutinin are deficient in a UDP-N-acetylglucosamine--glycoprotein N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity.

Several clones of Chinese hamster ovary cells resistant to the cytotoxicity of the phytohemagglutinin from Phaseolus vulgaris show decreased binding of 125I-labeled phytohemagglutinin and contain decreased levels of a UDP-N-acetylglucosamine--glycoprotein N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.51; UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose:glycoprotein 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucosyltransferase) activity when compared to wild-type cells. The decrease in transferase activity varies from 45% to 96%, depending on the exogenous acceptor used in the enzyme assay. No differences between lectin-resistant and wild-type cells were noted for several other glycosyltransferases. The absence of a particular N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase in the lectin-resistant cells apparently results in defective glycosylation of lectin-binding glycoproteins on the cell surface. A phytohemagglutinin-resistant clone which shows decreased binding of 125I-labeled phytohemagglutinin but does not exhibit the enzyme deficiency has also been isolated.

Binding Sites↗

Mammalian cells with altered forms of RNA polymerase II.

Mutants of Chinese hamster ovary cells that are resistant to alpha-amanitin can be isolated. At least some of these mutants contain an altered form of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II, as indicated by its resistance to alpha-amanitin. These results indicate that mutation to alpha-amanitin resistance involves a change of a structural gene.

Animals↗