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Biomedical subjects

R W Ruddon

Publications and source records attributed to R W Ruddon.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Stimulation of synthesis and secretion of chorionic gonadotropin subunits by eutopic and ectopic hormone-producing human cell lines.

The effects of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3'3':-5'-monophosphate (AMP) and sodium butyrate on the synthesis and secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) by trophoblastic and nontrophoblastic human cell lines were studied by radioimmunoassay and pulse-chase labeling techniques. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP stimulated synthesis and secretion of HCG-alpha and HCG-beta subunits by the trophoblastic cell lines JAR and BeWo, whereas butyrate had no effect or decreased secretion. On the other hand, a number of nontrophoblastic cell lines (including the breast carcinoma lines ZR-75-31, BT-20, and MCF-7; the bronchogenic carcinoma line ChaGo; and the cervical carcinoma line HeLa S3) were induced to synthesize and secrete increased amounts of HCG subunits by butyrate, but dibutyryl cyclic AMP had less or no stimulatory effect. The nontrophoblastic brain tumor line CBT was an exception to this general rule in that HCG-beta production was stimulated by dibutyryl cyclic AMP but not by butyrate. In all cases, the drug-induced increase in HCG subunit secretion was directly proportional to the elevation of HCG subunit synthesis. These data suggest that the differential effects of dibutyryl cyclic AMP and butyrate on trophoblastic and nontrophoblastic cells reflect differences in the transcription or translation of HCG subunit genes induced by these agents in the two cell types.

Bucladesine↗

Production of human chorionic gonadotropin and its subunits by human tumors growing in nude mice.

The production and secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and its subunits by human tumors growing in nude mice have been examined. JAR choriocarcinoma cells growing in nude mice produce both free alpha subunit and complete HCG, but there is a decrease in the amount of free alpha subunit relative to complete HCG produced in vivo compared to HCG subunit production by these cells growing in culture. Cell lines that produce only free alpha subunit in culture (HeLa cervical carcinoma, ChaGo bronchogenic carcinoma, and BT-20 breast carcinoma) continue to produce primarily free alpha subunit in vivo, but a small amount of HCG-beta/HCG is detectable in the 24-hr urine collected from mice bearing HeLa or ChaGo tumors. CBT cells derived from a glioblastoma multiforme produce both alpha and HCG-beta/HCG in vivo. This represents a distinct shift from the pattern of HCG subunit production by CBT cells in culture because cultured CBT cells produce only free beta subunit and do not synthesize either free alpha or complete HCG. Thus, for human tumors growing in nude mice, there appears to be a shift toward more complete HCG production and a decrease in free subunit production as compared to the pattern observed for cultured cells.

Animals↗

Synthesis and processing of human chorionic gonadotropin subunits in cultured choriocarcinoma cells.

Pulse and pulse-chase experiments have identified the presence of partially glycosylated precursors of the alpha and beta subunits of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in cultured JAR choriocarcinoma cells. The alpha subunit precursor has an apparent molecular weight (by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) of 18,000 (compared to 22,000 for fully processed alpha subunit); the beta subunit precursor has an apparent molecular weight of 24,000 (fully processed, 34,000). Both of these precursors appear to have an intracellular half-life of at least 1 hr and to contain the mannose core but not the terminal carbohydrate sequences. Fully processed alpha and beta subunits do not accumulate intracellularly, indicating that further processing of the precursors is followed by rapid secretion.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗

Content of gonadotropins in cultured human malignant cells and effects of sodium butyrate treatment on gonadotropin secretion by HeLa cells.

Twenty-one of 82 human cell lines examined for production of human chorionic gonadotropin and its subunits (HCG-alpha and HCG-beta) produced either one or both subunits at some phase in their growth. Of these, 14 produced an excess amount of free alpha subunit, and seven produced HCG-beta or complete HCG without evidence for free alpha subunit synthesis. Five of the HCG-producing cell lines also contained or secreted the beta subunit of human luteinizing hormone. CBT cells derived from a glioblastoma multiforme and JAR choriocarcinoma cells secreted significant amounts of the beta subunit of human luteinizing hormone, while three other cell lines (breast carcinoma MCF-7, HeLa S3, and melanoma A375) produced small amounts of the beta subunit of human luteinizing hormone but did not appear to secrete it. Two cell lines (the melanoma line A375 and the SV40-transformed line SV80) appeared to contain small amounts of human follicle-stimulating hormone. Sodium butyrate caused a 40-fold induction in the secretion of both HCG-alpha and HCG-beta by HeLa S3 cells, but the total amount of HCG-alpha secretion induced was 800-fold greater than that of HCG-beta. Induction was blocked by actinomycin D (1 microgram/ml) and cycloheximide (5 microgram/ml) but was not affected by 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine at a concentration (5 microgram/ml) that blocked DNA synthesis 99%. These results indicate that a number of malignant human cell lines produce the subunits of both placental and pituitary gonadotropins and that there is frequently an excess secretion of the free alpha subunit common to these hormones.

Butyrates↗

Partial purification and properties of a chromatin-associated phosphoprotein kinase from rat liver nuclei.

A phosphoprotein kinase (EC 2.7.1.37) KIVb, from rat liver nuclei, was purified 75-fold by phosphocellulose chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. The enzyme, which has an apparent molecular weight of 55 000, phosphorylates casein and chromatin-bound nonhistone proteins more readily than histones or ribosomal proteins. It exhibits an absolute requirement for divalent cation with optimum activity at 15--20 mM Mg2+. Maximal kinase activity is achieved at 100 mM NaCl. The pH vs. activity curve is biphasic with optima at pH 6.5 and pH 8.0. The Km value for casein is 280 mug/ml and the Km for ATP is 6-10(-6) M. Kinase KIVb phosphorylates numerous nonhistone nuclear proteins as shown by electrophoretic analysis. The addition of kinase KIVb to reaction mixtures containing nonhistone proteins results in the phosphorylation of a spectrum of polypeptides similar to those that are phosphorylated by endogenous nuclear kinases. Nonhistone proteins bound to chromatin appear to be better substrates for KIVb than nonhistones dissociated from chromatin. A comparison of nuclear phosphoproteins phosphorylated either in the intact animal or in vitro (by the addition of kinase KIVb) indicates some differences and some similarities in the patterns of phosphorylation.

Animals↗

Stimulation of mitogenesis in normal and leukemic human lymphocytes by divalent and tetravalent lima bean lectins.

Two hemagglutinating components purified from the lima bean and composed of identical 62,000-molecular-weight subunits have mitogenic activity in normal and leukemic human lymphocyte cultures. Component II (247,000 molecular weight), a tetramer with four saccharide binding sites, is severalfold more active than component III (124,000 molecular weight), a dimer with two binding sites per molecule, as a mitogen for normal lymphocytes. Component II also stimulates mitogenesis in populations of cultured leukemic lymphocytes and appears to have greater activity than phytohemagglutinin-P in leukemic lymphocyte cultures obtained from some patients. Lima bean component III has minimal mitogenic activity toward leukemic lymphocytes. Components II and III appear to compete for the same cell-surface binding sites, but component II has a much greater capacity than component III to trigger DNA synthesis at low concentrations (2.5-25 mug/ml) in normal lymphocyte cultures. These results suggest that the mitogenic activity of lima bean lectin components is directly related to their valence.

Cells, Cultured↗