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Biomedical subjects

R E Gallagher

Publications and source records attributed to R E Gallagher.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Infective transmission and characterisation of a C-type virus released by cultured human myeloid leukaemia cells.

A C-type virus isolated from long term cultures of myeloid cells from a patient with acute myelogenous leukaemia is infectious for a wide variety of cells. The establishment of chronically infected cells enabled us to characterise the virus by biological, immunological, and biochemical tests. The virus is closely related to the simian sarcoma-associated virus isolated from a woolly monkey fibrosarcoma.

Animals↗

Type C RNA tumor virus isolated from cultured human acute myelogenous leukemia cells.

Previously, type C RNA tumor virus-related components have been described in blood leukocytes from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. These components, for example, reverse transcriptase, have been shown to be most closely related to those from two oncogenic subhuman primate type C viruses (woolly monkey sarcoma virus and gibbon ape leukemia virus). Now, we report the continuous production of budding type C viruses with the same characteristic reverse transcriptase by three separate culturings of leukocytes from a single bleeding from a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia. These isolations were made possible by the discovery of a source of conditioned media which sustains exponential growth of human myelogenous leukemia cells in liquid suspension culture.

Cell Differentiation↗

Growth and differentiation in culture of leukemic leukocytes from a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia and re-identification of type-C virus.

Conditioned medium from a culture of whole human embryo cells stimulated prolonged exponential growth in suspension culture of leukocytes from a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia. Ten to 20% of the cultured cells consistently differentiated into mature granulocytes including neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils. The proportion of lymphocytes declined after culturing, and tests for Epstein-Barr virus antigens were negative. An abnormality of a G group chromosome was observed in some metaphases from the patient's fresh bone marrow and from the cultured leukocytes, indicating growth in vitro of leukemic cells. After 4-10 weeks in culture, a budding type-C virus was continuously released by the cultured leukocytes, predominantly by undifferentiated blast cells. This virus was originally identified in three different cultures of a peripheral blood specimen obtained at the time of diagnosis. Subsequently, this virus was identified by reverse transcriptase (RNA-dependent DNA polymerase) assays and by electron microscopy in cultured leukocytes from a bone marrow specimen obtained 14 months later from the same patient. Virus produced by cultures of both specimens was closely related, if not identical, to the woolly monkey type-C virus.

Cell Differentiation↗

RNA-directed DNA polymerase from human leukemic blood cells and from primate type-C virus-producing cells: high- and low-molecular-weight forms with variant biochemical and immunological properties.

RNA-directed DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) from leukocytes of individual leukemic patients can be grouped by velocity gradient analyses into two distinct classes, a low-molecular-weight (LMW) class of approximately 70,000 and a high-molecular-weight (HMW) class of 130,000 to 140,000. The reverse transcriptases from mammalian type-C viruses have with one exception (see text) been isolated as enzymes with molecular weights of 70,000. In this study, the reverse transcriptase from extracellular gibbon ape leukemia virus was also isolated only as the LMW class. However, the enzyme from gibbon virus-producing cells was isolated partially in the HMW form; this form was converted completely to the LMW form by treatment with 0.5 M KC1 and 0.5% Triton X-100 and could be re-converted to the HMW form by lowering the KC1 and Triton X-100 concentrations. A similar conversion from a HMW form to a LMW form was demonstrated with enzyme from human leukemic cells. The LMW form of the human and gibbon ape cellular enzymes utilized synthetic primer-templates in a similar fashion to viral enzyme, and this form was strongly inhibited by antisera (IgG) to reverse transcriptase from simian (woolly monkey) type-C virus. The HMW form of both enzymes utilized synthetic primer-templates less efficiently than the LMW form, and was resistant to inhibition by antipolymerase IgG of simian type-C virus. The HMW form of the cellular reverse transcriptases transcribed viral 70S RNA in the absence of synthetic primer relatively more efficiently than did the extracellular viral form. These data suggest that the HMW form is due in part to aggregation of the LMW form and in part to a cellular factor(s) which may affect both the form and function of intracellular reverse transciptase.

Animals↗

Evolutionary nature of human reverse transcriptase and of viral-related DNA synthesized in vitro by human leukemic cells.

The reverse transcriptase and endogenous DNA product synthesized by virus-like particles in the cytoplasm of human leukemic cells have been studied for their genetic relatedness to homologous components obtained from several animal RNA tumor viruses. The human reverse transcriptase activity was inhibited by antibodies prepared against reverse transcriptase from some animal RNA tumor viruses. The DNA molecules synthesized endogenously by the human cytoplasmic particle in the presence of actinomycin D, using the reverse transcriptase enzyme and RNA template residing in the particle, hybridized to 70S RNA purified from certain animal RNA tumor viruses. Both the human reverse transcriptase and DNA product are closely related to homologues from primate type-C viruses, more distantly related to those from murine type-C viruses, and essentially unrelated to similar structures from feline or avian type-C viruses. They are not related to type-B RNA tumor viruses. The results demonstrate that the components from the human leukemic cells are viral (type-C) and primate in nature.

Cytoplasm↗

Relationship between RNA-directed DNA polymerase (reverse transcriptase) from human acute leukemic blood cells and primate type-C viruses.

An RNA-directed DNA polymerase was isolated from the peripheral blood leukocytes of a patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia by successive purification of a particulate cytoplasmic fraction with endogenous, ribonuclease-sensitive DNA polymerase activity. Like RNA-directed DNA polymerase from mammalian type-C virus, the human leukemic cell enzyme efficiently utilized (A)(n).(dT)(12-18) and (C)(n).(dG)(12-18) and had an approximate molecular weight of 70,000. Further, the leukemic cell enzyme was strongly inhibited by antisera to RNA-directed DNA polymerase of primate type-C virus in a fashion similar to that noted with an extensively purified RNA-directed DNA polymerase from a person with acute myelogenous leukemia [Todaro, G.J. & Gallo, R.C. (1973), Nature 244, 206]. By these biochemical and immunological results the leukemic cell enzyme could be differentiated from all other known cellular DNA polymerases but could not be distinguished from RNA-directed DNA polymerase of primate type-C virus. We interpret these data, combined with observations published elsewhere, to indicate that human acute myelogenous leukemia cells contain components related to primate type-C virus. The parameters used in this study may provide the specificity and sensitivity required for determining the presence or absence and (if present) the relatedness of RNA-directed DNA polymerase in other cases and types of human leukemia.

Aged↗

Systematics of RNA tumor viruses and virus-like particles of human origin.

[(3)H]DNA copies of avian, feline, murine, and primate RNA tumor virus genomes were synthesized in vitro by an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase reaction. These DNAs were hybridized to 60-70S RNA that had been purified from the viruses. The amount of the [(3)H]DNA hybridized yielded a measure of the genetic relatedness among the DNA preparations synthesized by the viruses. When many combinations of DNA and RNA were analyzed, the pattern of hybridization showed in some cases that the DNA copies of the viral RNA were related to each other in the same way that the natural hosts of the viruses are phylogenetically related. This pattern was observed only among the RNA leukemia viruses. The sarcoma component in sarcoma-leukemia viruses from rats and primates appeared to be unusually closely related. The mouse mammary carcinoma virus and two unclassified viruses (MPMV and Visna) appeared to be genetically distinct.A similar analysis of DNA synthesized by an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase associated with a viral-like particle obtained from the cytoplasm of human leukemic white blood cells demonstrated that this DNA occupied a space in the affinity pattern of leukemia viruses which is expected of a nucleic acid from a primate-type-C RNA tumor virus. This observation strengthens earlier evidence that components of RNA tumor viruses are associated with human leukemia.

Animals↗

Chromatographic analyses of isoaccepting tRNAs from avian myeloblastosis virus.

Avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) 4S RNA was tested for amino acid acceptor activity for 18 of the 20 amino acids. A nonrandom distribution of viral tRNAs was found compared with tRNA from normal liver or from AMV-infected leukemic myeloblasts, confirming previous reports. Methionine and proline tRNAs were considerably enriched, whereas glutamic acid, glutamine, serine, tyrosine, and valine tRNAs were markedly depleted in AMV relative to homologous cellular tRNAs. The seven AMV tRNAs with the greatest amino acid acceptance capacities, which were in order methionine, proline, lysine, arginine, histidine, isoleucine, and threonine tRNAs, were compared with homologous tRNAs from leukemic myeloblasts and liver by reversed-phase 5 chromatography. Of the 25 isoaccepting chromatographic fractions identified, no tRNA species unique to AMV was detected. Only methionyl-tRNA showed a substantial quantitative variation in isoaccepting species compared with the host cell. Thus, viral selectivity for amino acid-specific tRNAs is not, generally, paralleled by selectivity for individual isoaccepting tRNA species. Qualitative differences in arginyl- and histidyl-tRNA isoaccepting species were discovered in virus and leukemic myeloblasts compared with liver. This indicates the existence of structural differences in these tRNA species which could be related to virus replication or expression.

Acylation↗