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N Auersperg

Publications and source records attributed to N Auersperg.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Response to and expression of amphiregulin by ovarian carcinoma and normal ovarian surface epithelial cells: nuclear localization of endogenous amphiregulin.

Amphiregulin (AR) is a polypeptide growth regulator which has sequence homology to the epidermal growth factor-related family of ligands and contains putative nuclear targeting sequences. Human ovarian carcinoma cell lines and their normal counterparts, ovarian surface epithelial cells (OSEs), were assessed for their ability to respond to and express AR. Addition of exogenous AR (8-200 pM) inhibited the growth of 2 of 3 OSE specimens and 3 of the 6 carcinoma cell lines indicating that AR has the potential to inhibit the growth of normal cells, in addition to carcinoma cells. In contrast, concentrations of AR ranging from 1-5 nM stimulated the growth of all 3 of the OSEs and 4 of the 6 carcinoma cell lines. Immunocytochemical staining of the cells using antipeptide antibodies directed against residues 8-26 of AR indicated that all cells expressed AR and that the staining was localized to the nucleus. The nuclear staining of AR was concentrated in the nucleolus of the carcinoma cells, whereas the staining was diffuse in the nucleus of the OSEs. These results suggest that AR may play a growth regulatory role in the nucleus of cells and this role may be different in normal and malignant epithelial cells.

Amphiregulin↗
PubMed1991

Protease treatment of nitrocellulose-bound antigens enhances the sensitivity of western blots.

The sensitivity of Western blots is limited by the avidity of antibody-antigen interactions, and by problems of specificity in interactions between antibodies and antigens from different species. Using rat and human keratins as the antigens, and a set of antibodies against human and rat keratins, this study demonstrates that mild treatment of nitrocellulose blots with trypsin and/or pepsin enhances the sensitivity of the assay and permits the cross-species demonstration of antigens that are not otherwise detectable.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Ovarian surface epithelium: autonomous production of connective tissue-type extracellular matrix.

The ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) is known to contribute to postovulatory repair of the ovarian cortex by proliferation and migration over the site of follicular rupture, and by deposition of a basement membrane. We examined the production of other extracellular matrix components in culture by OSE cells of the rat (ROSE), using immunofluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy, and proline incorporation. We compared recently explanted cells in low passage, the immortal line ROSE 239, whose growth pattern resembles low passage cultures, and the immortal line ROSE 199, which forms ridges and papillae. The epithelial nature of all three cell types was confirmed by the presence of keratin and laminin. All three cell types secreted collagen types I and III and at least one (ROSE 199) produced highly polymerized banded fibrils, which are characteristic for stromal or interstitial extracellular matrix. Simultaneous production of collagen types I and III, keratin, and laminin by cloned subpopulations ruled out an origin of the lines in mixed epithelial/fibroblast populations. The results demonstrate that OSE has the capacity to synthesize major components of connective tissue stroma. They suggest that this epithelium, in addition to its postulated proteolytic role, may also express synthetic activity in the remodelling of the ovarian cortical stroma. A capacity of OSE cells to produce stromal components autonomously might be an important factor in the formation of ovarian surface papillae and in neoplastic progression of OSE-derived ovarian carcinomas.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Histologic variation among experimental tumors of common origin: relationships to viral p21 expression and to tumor-derived extracellular matrix.

Transformed lines, obtained by infection of adult rat adrenocortical fibroblast-like cells with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus, produce s.c. tumors which range histologically from fibrosarcomas to carcinomas to undifferentiated neoplasms. This study was undertaken to determine whether the histology was a stable characteristic of individual lines and whether it was related to oncogene expression and to differentiation in culture. Three lines were infected at passage 1 and tumor histology, differentiation markers and expression of the transforming protein v-p21 were evaluated periodically over a 1-year period. The original stromal characteristics of the target cells (metachromatic extracellular matrix (ECM), a high rate of collagen production and collagen incorporation into ECM, and a fibroblastic morphology) diminished with transformation. In contrast, parenchymal differentiation markers (lipid, steroidogenic enzymes) were enhanced and constitutively expressed in all lines. The two lines in which ECM production was most reduced formed carcinomas in vivo, while the third line showed a smaller shift in these characteristics and formed sarcomas. Thus, histopathology seemed to be influenced by tumor-derived ECM but unrelated to the expression of steroidogenic properties. The tumors became less differentiated with time, but retained distinct line-specific phenotypes. Throughout the study, v-p21 remained overexpressed in all lines to a similar degree, but the subcellular localization of v-p21 differed between fibroblastic and epithelial cells, suggesting a possible correlation with differentiation.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1990

Density separation of rat adrenocortical cells: morphology, steroidogenesis, and P-450scc expression in primary culture.

We have developed a method that separates rat adrenocortical cells by density into populations which retain zone specific properties in primary culture. Two different parenchymal populations were obtained and designated 2FASC (1.034 g/ml, 18.0 microns cell diameter) and 7GLOM (1.069 g/ml, 11.7 microns cell diameter). In freshly isolated cell suspensions the physical characteristics and differential steroidogenic responses to adrenocorticotropin and angiotensin II suggested that 2FASC cells originated predominantly from the zona fasciculata and 7GLOM cells from the zona glomerulosa. In primary culture (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium-F12 medium with 15% horse serum and 2.5% fetal bovine serum) the two populations exhibited different morphologies. 2FASC cells retained lipid and formed cohesive epithelial monolayers that remained stationary for 3 wk. 7GLOM cells were initially epithelial but rapidly lost lipid, spread, and assumed fibroblastic shapes. Both cell types were positive for the cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 by immunofluorescence. Therefore, the morphologic changes seen in 7GLOM cultures were due to modulation, not fibroblastic overgrowth. This phenotypic plasticity may reflect the mesodermal origin of the adrenal cortex, and the subcapsular location of 7GLOM cells in vivo. In contrast, cells such as 2FASC which are located deeper in the cortex seem to have a more restricted, fully committed parenchymal phenotype.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1990

V-K-ras transformation induces reversion to an earlier developmental form in adult rat adrenal cells.

The basis for specific changes in differentiation that accompany ras-oncogene-mediated transformation are not understood. When short-term cultures of fibroblast-like cells from adult rat adrenal glands were transformed with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (KiMSV), the original stromal characteristics of the target cells (metachromatic extracellular matrix, high collagen production, collagen incorporation into pericellular matrix and a fibroblastic morphology and growth pattern) diminished. In contrast, parenchymal differentiation markers (neutral lipid, delta 5, 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 21-hydroxylase and epithelial morphology) were enhanced. These changes in differentiation were initiated concurrently with the over-expression of the transforming protein v-p21, but were unrelated to the levels of v-p21 expression. They were independent of the immortalizing component of transformation mediated by v-K-ras, because they did not take place in spontaneously immortalized lines derived from the same target cells, unless the lines were also transformed with KiMSV. In normal embryonic development, stromal and parenchymal adrenocortical cells arise by divergent differentiation pathways from a common, multipotential mesenchymal precursor. The transformation-induced modulation from a predominantly stromal to a more-parenchymal phenotype is thus reminiscent of reversion to a more primitive, bipotential developmental stage.

20-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed1990

A simplified method to culture human ovarian surface epithelium.

The ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) is thought to give rise to over 85% of human ovarian carcinomas. In spite of its clinical importance, no animal models for the in vivo investigation of this tissue exist, and available culture methods have yielded limited success. In this study, OSE cells from 55 normal ovarian biopsy specimens were used to improve and simplify the methodology for OSE culture and to define the influence of clinical parameters on cultured OSE cells. An improved explanation method was developed which takes advantage of the tenuous attachment of OSE to underlying tissues: the surface epithelium was scraped off the ovarian surface with a rubber scraper, generating epithelial fragments which produced monolayers in culture, with little contamination by other cell types. The scrape method is superior to the explant method previously described (Siemens CH, Auersperg N: J Cell Physiol 134:347, 1988) in terms of speed, simplicity, higher purity of cultures, and increased cell yield. An improved nutrient medium (199/MCDB105/15%FBS) resulted in OSE lines that maintained the original epithelial phenotype for up to 12 population doublings. OSE, detached from the ovary, remained viable if frozen in liquid nitrogen either before culture or in primary culture on strips of plastic, providing OSE independently of the availability of surgical specimens. Growth was not influenced by diagnosis (nonmalignant gynecologic disorders), patient age (mean range: 40.5, 20 to 62 years), or the presence of inclusion cysts or large follicles in the biopsy specimen. This culture system provides conditions for in depth studies of OSE physiology and pathology.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Heterogeneous expression of keratin, involucrin, and extracellular matrix among subpopulations of a poorly differentiated human cervical carcinoma: possible relationships to patterns of invasion.

Undifferentiated cervical carcinomas vary considerably in their intercellular organization and patterns of invasion. In spite of its clinical significance, the basis for such variation is poorly understood. We investigated the cellular properties that may be responsible for this diversity, using as a model two human cervical carcinoma cell lines that were derived from the same tumor specimen and the same clone. It was shown previously that, in spite of their common origin, each line forms a histologically distinct type of undifferentiated carcinoma when heterotransplanted in vivo: cells of line C-4I grow as compact expanding masses with central necrosis, while tumors of line C-4II infiltrate host tissues as small, well-vascularized, dispersed cell groups. The characteristic behavior of each line was retained in culture, where C-4I cells formed highly multilayered cohesive colonies, while C-4II cells formed diffuse, monolayered colonies and shed into the culture medium. These observations as well as ultrastructural data suggested that each line may be arrested at a different stage of stratified squamous differentiation. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested by examining specific differentiation markers. An analysis of the cultures by immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting revealed that keratin was more abundant in the compact C-4I line than in the dispersed C-4II line. C-4I cells expressed keratins 5, 6, 8, 16, 18, and 19, while C-4II expressed only keratins 8, 16, 18, and 19. In the multilayered C-4I colonies, involucrin-positive cells occurred in the apical cell layers only. In C-4II, involucrin-positive cells occurred in monolayers and domes, and they were most consistently located apically in crowded cultures. Laminin was secreted by both lines, but only C-4II cells deposited a fibronectin matrix. The results suggest that C-4I cells resemble normal cervical cells at the spinous stage of stratified squamous differentiation, while C-4II cells resemble basal/suprabasal cells. The different growth patterns of the tumors, formed by the lines in vivo, therefore likely reflect functional and behavioral differences that normally exist between spinous and basal cervical epithelial cells. The results suggest that differentiation-related functional properties may lead to histological diversity among cervical carcinomas that are categorized as undifferentiated by histopathological criteria.

Carcinoma↗
PubMed1989

A hyaluronate binding protein transiently codistributes with p21k-ras in cultured cell lines.

Hyaluronate (HA) affects the migratory and adhesive properties of cells. HABP, one of the sites which bind HA, localizes in the ruffling lamellae of normal migrating fibroblasts. Similarly, p21 in K-ras oncogene-transformed cells appears enhanced in membrane ruffles. To investigate the possibility that p21 and HABP are functionally linked, their subcellular distribution in two K-ras-transformed lines was examined by double label immunofluorescence and correlated with motility. In both lines, the majority of cells were p21k-ras and HABP positive at 24 h after subculture. However, immunofluorescence for HABP both decreased and relocated, from ruffles and cell processes to cell bodies, with time whereas the intensity and distribution of staining for p21 remained constant. In doubly positive cells, HABP and p21 colocalized in the ruffles at 24 h, but not at 72 h after subculture. The times after subculture at which changes in the immunofluorescent pattern of HABP occurred differed with cell type and correlated with their migratory rate. Thus, the migratory rate of KNRK cells, which was less than in the K-C3H-10T1/2 cells, correlated with both an earlier decrease in HABP and an earlier loss of codistribution between HABP and p21 compared to K-C3H-10T1/2 cells. Further evidence of a functional link between HABP and p21k-ras was suggested by the ability of hyaluronic acid, which induces ruffling in K-C3H-10T1/2 cells, to promote the coassociation of p21k-ras and HABP. These results demonstrate a transient codistribution of p21 and HABP, in ruffles, that is possibly related to migratory activity and/or cell-surface changes following subculture.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Karyotypic analysis of two related cervical carcinoma cell lines that contain human papillomavirus type 18 DNA and express divergent differentiation.

The cell lines C-4I and C-4II were established in culture from a nonkeratinizing squamous carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Both lines contain human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 DNA (Brandt et al., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, 5:179, 1987) and both are hypodiploid with similar, but not identical, karyotypes. Each line expresses multiple characteristics of ectocervical epithelial differentiation, but the characteristics differ between the lines. In the present study, G banding of the lines showed that cells of both lines have two normal chromosomes 1-5, 8-10, 13, 16, and 17, one normal chromosome 12 and 14, and no normal chromosomes 15 and 18. The lines share three abnormal chromosomes, der(8)t(8q;12q), der(18)t(18q;?), and i(5p). There are specific differences between the lines. C-4I has two normal chromosomes 6, while C-4II has one; C-4II has two chromosomes 11 and der(18)t(18q;?), while C-4I lacks both chromosomes 11 and has one der(18)t(18q;?). Each line has unique markers that include del(11)(p11), del(22)(q12), and del(21)(q21) in C-4I and i(15q), der(X)t(Xq;9p), der(6)t(6p;14q), and del(4)(q21) in C-4II. The results show that these phenotypically distinct lines are derived from the same clone and that the 8q arm (the site of HPV 18 integration) is present in three copies in both lines. They also define several chromosome rearrangements that are compatible with the expression of specific differentiation markers.

Carcinoma↗
PubMed1988

Serial propagation of human ovarian surface epithelium in tissue culture.

Most human ovarian cancers are thought to arise in the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The precise role of OSE in carcinogenesis has not been defined because no appropriate animal models for the study of this tissue exist and culture of human OSE has been limited to primary outgrowths. In this report, we describe conditions for serial cultivation of normal human OSE. Premenopausal ovarian tissue was obtained at surgery. OSE growth was compared in media MCDB 202, 199 and Waymouth's 752/1 (WM) supplemented with 5, 15, or 25% fetal bovine serum (FBS), with/without 20 ng/ml epidermal growth factor (EGF) and 0.4 micrograms/ml hydrocortisone (HC). The rate and extent of OSE outgrowths from explants in primary culture were greatest in either WM or 199/202 (1:1), supplemented with 15% FBS/EGF/HC. In early passage cultures, cell proliferation was most rapid and extensive in 199/202 with 15% FBS, EGF, and HC. In this medium, OSE cells were subcultured up to 10 times and underwent 20-25 population doublings over 5 weeks. The population doubling time during rapid growth was approximately 48 h. Seeding efficiencies of up to 53% and cloning efficiencies of up to 13% were obtained. Early passage OSE cells reversibly modulated from a slow growing, epithelial, intensely keratin-positive form in 199/202 medium lacking EGF/HC, to a rapidly proliferating, elongate, less keratin-positive form in medium with EGF/HC. OSE cells grown in WM/5-15% FBS were epithelial and near-stationary. Thus, culture conditions have been defined for ovarian carcinogen assays requiring either proliferating or stationary cell populations, and for further studies of the role of OSE in ovarian biology.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Modifications of tumor histology by point mutations in the v-fps oncogene: possible role of extracellular matrix.

Fujinami sarcoma virus (FSV) encodes a protein-tyrosine kinase, p130gag-fps, whose enzymatic activity and ability to transform cultured cells to a neoplastic phenotype are reduced by substitution of the major autophosphorylation site tyrosine-1073 with other amino acids. We compared the histopathology of tumors formed in syngeneic immunocompetent rats by Rat-2 cells and by Rat-2 cells transformed in culture with (a) wild type (wt) FSV, (b) mutant FSV where the codon for tyrosine-1073 of p130gag-fps had been changed to codons for phenylalanine or serine, and (c) a revertant FSV, genotypically identical to wt FSV, in which the codon for tyrosine-1073 had been restored. Latency periods from cell inoculation to tumor formation were 12-29 weeks with Rat-2 cells, 6-8 weeks with mutant-transformed Rat-2 cells, and 2-4 weeks with wt FSV- and revertant FSV-transformed Rat-2 cells. Untransfected Rat-2 cells formed tumors that histologically resembled low grade fibrosarcomas or fibromas and were characterized by uniform fusiform cells in parallel arrays with a prominent collagenous stroma. The growth pattern of tumors produced by mutant FSV-transformed cells was generally similar, although cellular forms and intercellular organization were less uniform. In contrast, Rat-2 cells transformed with either wt FSV or revertant FSV produced tumors that resembled highly malignant sarcomas and were composed of diffuse sheets of pleomorphic, disorganized cells and stroma rich in hyaluronate but poor in fibrous components. Local invasion occurred in 25% of tumors produced by Rat-2 cells and in 53 and 36% of tumors formed by mutant FSV- and wt FSV-transformed cells, respectively. In culture, Rat-2 cells and mutant FSV-transformed cells produced fibrillar pericellular matrices of collagen I and fibronectin. From 5 to 15% of protein secreted by these cells was collagen. Cultures of wt FSV- and revertant FSV-transformed cells lacked collagen and fibronectin matrices and collagen secretion was reduced to 0-2%. These results show that clinically relevant histological characteristics of malignant tumors can correlate with single amino acid substitutions previously shown to affect the enzymatic activity and transforming ability of an oncogenic protein tyrosine kinase. The mechanisms underlying some of the histological differences in this system may be related to differences in the production of extracellular matrix components among the transformed cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Modification of steroidogenesis in rat adrenocortical cells transformed by Kirsten murine sarcoma virus.

Adrenal fibroblasts from adult rats acquire some adrenocortical parenchymal characteristics as a consequence of transformation in early passage with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus. To further define the effects of Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-induced transformation on the steroid enzymes of these cells, we investigated the capacity of Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-transformed and untransformed adrenocortical fibroblasts to convert progesterone to C19 and C21 steroid metabolites. Over 95% of metabolites produced were identified and quantitated, and rates of enzyme activities over 24 h were calculated. The transformed and untransformed cells exhibited 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reductase, 3 alpha-, 3 beta-, and 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; 11 beta-, 17-, and 21-hydroxylase (HY); and C17-20-lyase activities. Viral transformation resulted in several metabolites not found in untransformed cells, significantly increased 5 beta-reductase, 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and C17-20-lyase activities, and significantly decreased 5 alpha-reductase, 3 alpha- and 20 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 21-HY activities. The 11 beta-HY and 17-HY activities remained unchanged. The results support previous data suggesting that adrenocortical fibroblasts express some characteristics of adrenocortical parenchymal stem cells. In contrast to other experimental systems, viral transformation of adrenocortical fibroblasts did not cause a generalized reduction of differentiated functions. Instead, specific increases and decreases in individual enzyme activities, with persisting synthesis of fetal and adult adrenocortico-specific steroids, resulted in an altered steroid profile that may have unique effects on the biology of the malignant cells.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1987

Proliferation of human carcinoma cells in calcium-deficient culture medium may depend on autocrine growth factor(s).

The ability to proliferate in media with low calcium concentrations (less than 0.1 mM) at clonal seeding densities is a characteristic of malignant cells. Cells of the carcinoma line C-4I are an exception, and are unable to proliferate in medium with 0.02 mM calcium (LCM) when seeded at low densities. Conditioned medium, derived from a subline of C-4I cells that were adapted to grow in LCM, contained an acid-stable factor of greater than 8 kilodaltons molecular weight that mediated proliferation and colony formation of unadapted C-4I cells in LCM in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect was not related to enhanced cell attachment or spreading, and was maximal when the unadapted C-4I cells were seeded in aggregates of 2-20 cells rather than singly. Thus, calcium independence, a component of the neoplastic phenotype, may be mediated by autocrine tumor-cell-derived factor(s) and may involve long- and short-range cell interactions.

Calcium↗
PubMed1986

Detection of an intracellular transforming protein (v-Ki-ras p21) using the flow activated cell sorter (FACS).

The transforming protein coded for by the Ki-ras oncogene, v-p21, localizes at the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane. A method is presented whereby the appearance of v-p21 in Kirsten murine sarcoma virus-transformed cells can be detected by flow cytometry, using a monoclonal antibody to v-p21 and methods modified from immunofluorescence microscopy. The method is sufficiently sensitive to differentiate between cellular and viral p21 levels, to detect small subpopulations of virus-transformed cells, and to monitor changes in p21 expression in response to physiologic variables. The method provides a rapid, quantitative means to investigate the expression of an intracellular transforming protein in heterogeneous cell populations.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

An agent or agents produced by virus-transformed cells cause unregulated ruffling in untransformed cells.

KNRK cells (a normal rat kidney [NRK] cell line transformed by Kirsten murine sarcoma virus) in sparse culture exhibit a highly ruffled morphology, but the cause of this ruffling is unknown. In this study, we have demonstrated that the continuous, excess ruffling on KNRK cells is caused by one or more soluble agents secreted by the KNRK cells themselves. To do this study, an assay for ruffling responses in live cell cultures was defined, and its reproducibility was demonstrated. This assay permitted observation of the kinetics of ruffling responses (percentage of cells ruffled as a function of time after stimulation). This method was used to compare the kinetics of ruffling induced by insulin, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, glucose, and KNRK cell conditioned medium (CM). Ruffling was elicited on NRK cells by each of the polypeptide mitogens and nutrients, but, in each case, this ruffling subsided spontaneously within an hour. CM from KNRK cells also caused ruffling movements on untransformed NRK cells, but this ruffling continued for at least 20 h. This response was largely blocked by premixing the KNRK cell CM with rabbit IgG against rat transforming growth factor, type alpha, (TGF-alpha). KNRK cells made quiescent (ruffle free) by a pH shift (from 7.4 to 8.4) responded to insulin, glucose, and KNRK cell CM with kinetics similar to those observed for each of these factors in NRK cells. The unusual feature for the ruffle-inducing agent(s) produced by KNRK cells was that this activity was not subject, in either NRK or KNRK cells, to the cellular off-regulation that limits the responses to insulin or glucose. Thus, the continuous ruffling of KNRK cells is caused by their own unregulated ruffle-inducing agent or agents, which appear to include TGF-alpha. This work also demonstrates that kinetic analysis of cellular responses to exogenous factors can provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms involved in the normal limitation of these responses.

Animals↗