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Biomedical subjects

P Monaghan

Publications and source records attributed to P Monaghan.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

The incidence and significance of salmonella carriage by gulls (Larus spp.) in Scotland.

Salmonella carriage in 5888 gulls sampled by cloacal lavage was found to be 7.8%. Marked geographical and seasonal differences in carriage rates were found. These differences appeared to be associated with human population density and seasonal differences in the reported incidence of human salmonellosis. The maximum duration of salmonella excretion in 17 laboratory-maintained gulls was 4 days and the number of salmonellae excreted was never more than 170 per gram of faeces. On the basis of this study it is suggested that gulls are not important factors in the aetiology of human salmonellosis.

Animals↗

The biochemical and immunocytochemical characterisation of an antigen on the membrane of basal cells of the epidermis.

A murine monoclonal antibody, LICR-LON-23.10, which had been raised against a well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma cell line (LICR-LON-HN5), recognises an antigen which is present on the membrane of basal cells of the epidermis. The tissue distribution of the antigen, as defined using immunohistochemical techniques, suggests that it is expressed preferentially on cells which are adjacent to a basement membrane. In squamous cell carcinomas, the antigen is expressed uniformly on undifferentiated cells, but in areas of keratinisation, the antigen is absent. The antigen recognised by the antibody was characterised as being a pair of glycoproteins with molecular masses of 120 and 135 daltons. The antibody was used for flow-cytometric analyses of epidermal keratinocyte preparations. Together with other basal cell markers, this antibody may be useful in the characterisation of the epidermal basal cell population as well as in broadening our understanding of the interaction between epithelial cell populations and their relationship with basement-membrane components.

Animals↗

Isolation and characterization of clonal cell lines from a transplantable metastasizing rat mammary tumor, TR2CL.

The metastasizing rat mammary cell strain from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (London Branch) which was originally developed from a benign rat mammary tumor induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (CAS: 684-93-5), yielded single-cell-cloned lines of isometric epithelial cells [rat mammary (Rama) 600-Rama 621] and one line of elongated cells (Rama 622); the former had a higher estrogen receptor content than the latter. All the representative epithelial cell lines tested (Rama 600, 603, and 617) failed to convert to elongated, myoepithelial-like cells or droplet cell/doming, alveolar-like cells in vitro. All representative cell lines tested induced tumors in syngeneic F344/N rats and CBA nu/nu mice, but only the epithelial lines metastasized to lungs and local lymph nodes in rats and to lungs in nude mice. The involved lungs and lymph nodes contained mainly intravascular thrombi and deposits in the subcapsular sinus, respectively. Tumors and metastases from the representative epithelial cell lines contained acinar and glandular structures together with an elongated cellular component. The Rama 622 tumors contained mainly spindle cells. Antisera to rat milk fat globule membranes and human keratins stained some of the epithelial and elongated cells in the Rama 600 tumors; less staining was observed in the Rama 622 tumors. None of the tumor cells stained with antiserum to myosin. Anti-laminin serum delineated a fragmented basement membrane in glandular elements and stained weakly the cytoplasm of the more elongated tumor cells. Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the identity of epithelial cells in the Rama 600 tumors, but no well-differentiated myoepithelial cells were seen in either type of tumor. Since nonmetastasizing epithelial cells isolated directly from carcinogen-induced benign rat mammary tumors can differentiate to myoepithelial-like cells in vitro or when growing as tumors in animals, it is suggested that the development of the malignant phenotype is associated with a loss of this differentiating ability.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

An immunocytochemical and ultrastructural study of heterogeneity in the human breast carcinoma cell line PMC42.

A recently established human breast carcinoma cell line has been reported to exhibit a number of morphological cell types in monolayer cultures as defined by phase-contrast microscopy. The cell line also produces cords of viable cells floating within the culture medium. Cultures of this cell line, grown in monolayer, on collagen gels, and as floating cords of cells, were studied by transmission electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. A detailed analysis of the staining pattern obtained with a series of monoclonal antibodies with well-defined human breast epithelial cell specificities and a polyclonal antikeratin antibody showed PMC42 to resemble cultures of both normal human breast and other human breast carcinoma cell lines. The pleomorphic nature of PMC42 cultures was confirmed at an ultrastructural level, and of the eight cell types observed by phase-contrast appearance, seven ultrastructural counterparts were observed. In addition, the presence of intracytoplasmic lumina and overt epithelial differentiation confirm a breast epithelial origin for this cell line.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Basal clear cells of the normal human breast.

The ductal system of the human breast consists of two major cell types: epithelial and myoepithelial. In some reports a third cell type, given various names is mentioned. In this study it is called a basal clear cell. The role of this cell, unlike that of the epithelial and myoepithelial cells, remains unclear, although it has been suggested that it may have a stem cell function. We illustrate here that there is an ultrastructural transition between the basal clear and myoepithelial cell; suggesting that it acts as a precursor of the myoepithelial cell, and may not be a stem cell for both epithelial and myoepithelial cells.

Adult↗

Distribution of entactin in the basement membrane of the rat mammary gland. Evidence for a non-epithelial origin.

Entactin, a sulfated glycoprotein with a molecular weight (MW) of about 150 kD, is present in vascular basement membranes and in the interstitial connective tissue of the mammary glands of virgin rats. It does not appear to be present in the basement membrane surrounding the mammary ductal system. However, in lactating mammary glands entactin is also present in the basement membrane region surrounding the secretory alveoli. Ultrastructural localisation of entactin reveals that it is present on the basal surface of epithelial cells, with patchy staining in the lamina lucida and lamina densa. Entactin also appears to be associated with interstitial collagen fibres. Mammary fibroblastic cells in culture are able to produce entactin, whereas mammary epithelial and myoepithelial cells, which synthesise the basement membrane proteins laminin and type IV collagen, fail to synthesise entactin.

Animals↗

Expression of epithelial antigens in primary cultures of normal human breast analysed with monoclonal antibodies.

Primary cultures of normal human breast were stained with monoclonal antibodies to see if antigens characteristic of luminal epithelial cells are retained in culture. Three monoclonal antibodies were used, LICR-LON-M8, LICR-LON-M18, and LICR-LON-M24, all specific for the cell surface of luminal epithelial as opposed to myoepithelial or stromal cells in the breast, and each staining a different subset of the epithelial cells in the intact tissue. Cultures were prepared from reduction mammoplasty samples by digestion with collagenase. The surface layer of cells was stained by immunofluorescence without fixation. (Cells underneath the surface layer were not accessible to this mode of staining). The antibodies stained patches of cells resembling flattened epithelium. These patches of cells cannot be distinguished by phase contrast microscopy without reference to the staining, in fact the boundaries of the cells are not usually resolved by phase contrast microscopy. Electron microscopy of sections through these cells show they are very flattened. They lie on top of the polygonal and elongated cells that dominate the phase contrast image. Two of the antibodies, M8 and M24, stain subsets of these epithelial-like cells at all stages of culture. The third antibody, M18, stains such cells initially, but after the first few days staining is predominantly found on the polygonal and elongated cells, then this also gradually disappears. It is possible that the cells stained by antibody M18 are converting from the epithelial-like morphology to the cuboidal and elongated morphology. Many cells are not stained by any of the antibodies, so appear either to by myoepithelial in origin or to have lost their luminal epithelial surface antigens at an early stage. This analysis draws attention to the variety of cell types in these cultures and the limitations of phase contrast microscopy as a means of analysing them.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Monoclonal antibody LICR-LON-E36 recognizes gonadotrophs in female rat pituitaries.

The distribution of the antigen localized by monoclonal antibody LICR-LON-E36 has been studied by means of light and electron microscopical immunocytochemical procedures on resin-embedded pituitaries from male and female rats. Using both immunoperoxidase and immunogold labeling techniques, the localization of LICR-LON-E36 has been compared with that obtained with antibodies against the beta subunit of rat luteinizing hormone (beta LH) and human follicle stimulating hormone (beta FSH), porcine adrenocroticotropic hormone (ACTH) and rat S-100. LICR-LON-E36 is localized in a portion of beta LH-containing cells in female rat pituitaries and where present both antigens are localized within the same storage granules. LICR-LON-E36 is rarely detectable within beta LH-containing cells of male rat pituitaries that also stain positively with anti-beta FSH antibodies. ACTH and S-100 were localized within different cell populations.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

A monoclonal antibody detecting neural and neuroendocrine differentiation.

A monoclonal antibody, named LICR-LON-E36, has been produced to the acidic fraction of soluble protein extracts of human brains. Using immunocytochemistry, it stained normal peripheral nerves, adrenal medulla, pancreatic islets, and enterochromaffin cells, in addition to recognizing an intracytoplasmic epitope in phaeochromocytomas, carcinoid tumors, some small-cell anaplastic lung, and a few breast carcinomas. Microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrophoretic nitrocellulose blotting experiments confirmed that the antibody is not directed at neuron-specific enolase. Its potential use as an immunological probe for neural and neuroendocrine differentiation is discussed.

Adrenal Medulla↗

Differentiation of normal and malignant human squamous epithelium in vivo and in vitro: a morphologic study.

We report a light microscopic and ultrastructural analysis of the comparative degrees of differentiation seen in keratinocytes derived from the tongue and epidermis with those of a well-differentiated human squamous carcinoma cell line (LICR-LON-HN5). When growing on plastic substrates, all cultures had a similar morphology, with multilayering and the production of cornified envelopes. When cultured on collagen gels the structure was more organized, with keratohyalin granules and keratin whorl formation in both the normal and the malignant cultures. Normal keratinocytes injected into athymic mice produced epidermal cysts, while cells from the cell line produced well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas, which were partially solid and partially cystic. the tumor was well organized, with identifiable basal cells, spinous cells, keratohyalin granules, and a prominent basal lamina at the stromal/epithelial interface. This model is to be developed for comparative studies between normal and malignant cells, with particular reference to basement membrane production and to investigations of the relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic factors in the control of squamous differentiation.

Animals↗

Loss of myoepithelial cell characteristics in metastasizing rat mammary tumors relative to their nonmetastasizing counterparts.

A series of WF rat mammary tumors comprising one transplantable nonmetastasizing line (MT-W9), two predominantly lymphatic (SMT-2A and SMT-077) and one lymphatic and hematogenous (MT-450) metastasizing transplantable lines, and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced nonmetastasizing primary tumors was examined for the presence of epithelial and myoepithelial cell characteristics with the use of immunocytochemical techniques. Tumor cells staining for myosin were only occasionally observed in a basal orientation in glandular structures in sections of DMBA-induced and MT-W9 tumors; anti-laminin serum stained the peripheries of the glandular structures in the DMBA-induced and MT-W9 tumors but failed to stain the SMT-2A and SMT-077 tumor cells. In the nonmetastasizing tumors immunologically detectable keratin occurred mainly in the outer cellular layer of glandlike structures, whereas milk fat globule membrane immunoreactivity occurred primarily in the luminal cells. Both these types of immunoreactivity were observed in MT-450 tumor cells, but the pattern of keratin staining was random. No such immunoreactivity occurred in SMT-2A or SMT-077 tumors. No tumor cell-associated staining for fibronectin was seen in any of the tumors examined, although host stromal components stained intensely. The nonmetastasizing tumors contained cuboidal epithelial cells with lumen formation, surface microvilli, and intercellular junctional complexes, together with a relatively undifferentiated elongated cell component. Other elongated cells showed hemidesmosomes, pinocytotic vesicles, tonofilaments, and small bundles of cytoplasmic filaments, suggesting gradations toward a myoepithelial phenotype. The MT-450 tumors were ultrastructurally similar to the nonmetastasizing tumors, but no features of myoepithelial cells were seen, although some cuboidal epithelial cells exhibited prominent tonofilaments. The SMT-2A and SMT-077 tumors consisted of nests of cuboidal-like cells with highly pleomorphic nuclei and much intercellular collagen. The results indicate a progressive loss of cellular differentiation characteristics, particularly those of the myoepithelial cell with increasing malignancy in this system.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗

The use of immunohistochemical probes in the study of benign and malignant breast disease.

A review is presented of the use of immunohistochemical probes in the study of the cellular pathology of the breast. Using a combination of monoclonal and polyclonal antisera it has been possible to investigate the relationship between myoepithelial cells and basement membrane components in benign breast disease and the disturbance of this relationship in early invasive and infiltrating ductal carcinomas. The use of immunohistochemical techniques at the ultrastructural level provides the methodology for future detailed analyses. The heterogeneous expression of antigenic determinants characteristic of epithelial cells in the normal breast is considered in conjunction with its relevance to the heterogeneity seen in the invasive tumours.

Animals↗

Lack of production of myoepithelial variants by cloned epithelial cell lines derived from the TMT-081 metastasizing rat mammary tumor.

A series of cell lines was isolated from the metastasizing rat mammary tumor cell strain TMT-081. MS by single-cell cloning. Feeder cells were required for development of single tumor cells into clonal colonies. The rate, pattern, and incidence of metastases following injection of cells into the mammary fat pads of syngeneic rats were relatively similar for the various cell lines, with dissemination to the lungs and axillary and paraaortic lymph nodes. When a representative cell line termed Rama 800 was subcloned, one subline was nontumorigenic, and another gave a lower incidence of lung metastases, but the remainder had similar in vivo properties to the parental Rama 800 cells. The metastatic properties of Rama 800 cells were not affected by passage in vitro through 60 cell generations. No production of myoepithelial-like variants from Rama 800 cells was observed at the ultrastructural level. Antisera to keratin, actin, laminin, and fibronectin, which normally stain myoepithelial cells and basement membrane, failed to stain Rama 800 cells, either in cultures or in tumor sections. Heterogeneous staining of Rama 800 tumor cells with antiserum to epithelial cell-specific milk fat globule membrane antigens was seen in tumor sections but not in culture. Abundant microvilli and membrane blebs were observed on the surface of cultured Rama 800 cells, but no lumen formation, desmosomes, or tonofilaments were seen, either in vivo or in vitro. The results suggest that the metastatic epithelial-derived cell lines lack the ability to express features of myoepithelial cells, in contrast to cell lines isolated previously from nonmetastasizing rat mammary tumors.

Animals↗

Production of skeletal muscle elements by cell lines derived from neoplastic rat mammary epithelial stem cells.

Single-cell-cloned cell lines intermediate in morphology between the cuboidal epithelial and fully elongated myoepithelial-like cells have been isolated from the single-cell-cloned epithelial stem cell lines Rama 25 and Rama 37 originally obtained from dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumors from Sprague-Dawley and Wistar-Furth rats, respectively. These are designated Rama 25-l1, Rama 25-l2, Rama 25-l4 (Sprague-Dawley) and Rama 50-55, Rama 59, and Rama 60 (Wistar-Furth), respectively. When growing as tumors in nude mice or syngeneic Wistar-Furth rats, respectively, many of the newly cloned cell lines give rise to spindle and giant, multinucleated cells which stain immunocytochemically with antisera to myoglobin and myosin and contain longitudinal fibrils, some of which contain phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin-staining cross-striations. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrates the presence of A-, l-, and H-bands and Z-discs and the hexagonal arrangement of thick and thin filaments characteristic of skeletal muscle. Similar results are obtained with selected cloned cell lines growing on floating collagen gels in vitro. Thus, a developmentally committed mammary epithelial cell can give rise, under suitable conditions, to a well-differentiated mesenchymal lineage, that of skeletal muscle. It is suggested that such cells may be responsible for the generation of the well-differentiated mesenchymal elements seen in the mixed (epithelial and myoepithelial) tumors of glandular origin.

Animals↗

Detection of micrometastases in patients with primary breast cancer.

An immunocytochemical method was used to screen smears obtained at primary surgery from multiple bone-marrow sites in 110 patients with breast cancer; at this time other techniques did not reveal metastases. Tumour cells were detected in the bone-marrow of 31 (28%) patients. The number of cells detected ranged from 1 to greater than 500; none was detected in conventionally stained smears. Patients in whom conventional criteria indicated a very poor prognosis seemed more likely to have such micrometastases. A further follow-up period is required to determine whether patients with micrometastases relapse earlier than those in whom no tumour cells are demonstrable.

Adult↗

Effects of 12-O-tetradecanylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) on a clonal human teratoma-derived embryonal carcinoma cell line.

The response of a human embryonal carcinoma cell line LICR LON HT39/7 to 12-O-tetradecanylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) has been studied. Cells treated with 5 ng/ml of TPA undergo marked morphological changes, becoming flattened with nuclear enlargement and developing a grainy and often vacuolated cytoplasm. Parallel changes in the cell surface phenotype of the treated cells also occur. These include the appearance of membrane fibronectin, the embryonic antigen SSEA-1, and a glycoprotein antigen recognised by a monoclonal antibody. There is also increased expression of histocompatibility antigens. Other membrane molecules, such as peanut agglutinin receptor(s) and a 200 000 membrane glycoprotein appear to be removed from the membrane following TPA treatment. The high levels of alkaline phosphatase normally present in LICR LON HT39/7 are also reduced by TPA. Changes in the ultrastructure of the cells have also been observed, such as increases in nuclear complexity and in the number of intermediate filaments in the treated cells. This latter observation has been confirmed by immunofluorescent staining of the cells for prekeratins, which show an extensive network following the addition of TPA, but not before. 2-Dimensional gel electrophoresis of the proteins synthesized by LICR LON HT39/7 before and after addition of TPA has shown that there are a number of alterations in the proteins synthesised by the treated cells. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation of the culture supernatants from these cells has shown that TPA induces the synthesis and secretion of fibronectin. The alterations in the phenotype of LICR LON HT39/7 induced by TPA are irreversible and the altered cells, whilst they stop dividing, can be maintained for at least three weeks in culture. The analogue of TPA 12-O-tetradecanylphorbol 13-myristate does not produce the effects described above.

Antigens, Surface↗

Differentiation of a squamous carcinoma cell line in culture and tumourigenicity in immunologically incompetent mice.

The process of differentiation in keratinocytes is accompanied by specific membrane and cytoplasmic changes. Using simple tissue culture techniques a well differentiated squamous carcinoma cell line is shown to exhibit in vitro keratinization with the formation of a multilayered structure and shedding of cells with a cornified envelope. The cell line produces tumours when xenografted into mice which are well differentiated and indistinguishable at the light and electron microscope level from the original surgical biopsy. It is concluded that the tumour will provide a suitable model for detailed in vitro and in vivo studies to compare both biological and pathological features of normal keratinocytes and their malignant counterparts.

Animals↗