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S Conlon

Publications and source records attributed to S Conlon.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Initiation of DNA synthesis in mammary epithelium and mammary tumors by lithium ions.

The growth promoting effects of lithium and insulin on cultures of mammary gland epithelium and CZF mouse mammary tumor cells were investigated. Lithium chloride exerts a 450-fold increase in the rate of DNA synthesis in mammary epithelium from mid-pregnant mice in organ culture or monolayer culture. There is an increase in both the percentage of cells initiating DNA synthesis and the net accumulation of DNA. The most effective lithium concentration is 10 mM, and the maximally effective rate of stimulation is reached 48 hours after addition. The magnitude of response to lithium varies with the physiological state of the mammary epithelial cell donor: epithelium from non-pregnant or lactating mice is less responsive than that from mid-pregnant mice. In combination, insulin and lithium produce either a synergistic or an additive effect on the growth of epithelium dependent upon the physiological state of the donor animal. Lithium also promotes the growth of mammary tumor cells in the absence or serum or other mitogens. The action of lithium on DNA synthesis appears to be a direct effect on the epithelial cells.

Animals↗

Initiation of genetic recombination: homologous pairing between duplex DNA molecules promoted by recA protein.

recA protein has been shown to promote hydrogen bonding between single-stranded DNA fragments and duplex DNA molecules homologous to them. However, genetic and biochemical evidence indicates that genetic exchanges generally take place between duplex molecules. We therefore chose to study the interactions promoted by recA protein between intact duplex DNA molecules and molecules containing gaps that are believed to increase the frequency of genetic exchanges. In the present paper, we show that incubation of intact and gap-containing plasmid DNA in the presence of recA protein leads to homologous pairing between duplex molecules which can be detected by centrifugation analysis and electron microscopy. The reaction is completely dependent on an active recA gene product, on genetic homology between the DNA species involved, and on the presence of ATP; under certain conditions, its efficiency can be increased considerably by the presence of the single-stranded DNA binding protein of Escherichia coli.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Defective organization of actin in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with inherited adenocarcinoma.

In the cytoplasm of well-spread cultured normal fibroblasts, actin is organized into a network of cables that run the length of the cell just inside the adherent cell membrane. A diffuse matrix replaces the cables in fibroblasts that have become tumorigenic as a result of oncogenic transformation. We have found a similar disruption in actin organization in cultured skin fibroblasts (passage 6-10) obtained by biopsy from patients with the inherited colonic cancer, adenomatosis of the colon and rectum (ACR). Because ACR is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait, about half the children of ACR patients will develop colon cancer, but they typically remain asymptomatic until at least the second decade of life. Actin distribution within cultured cells from children of ACR patients was identical either to that seen in cultured cells from normal persons or to that seen in cultured cells from ACR patients. The two different patterns were independent of age, sex, drug treatment, or infections of the donors. Apparently, this class of colonic carcinoma is accompanied by a systemic aberration in the organization of fibroblast cytoplasm, and this aberration can be detected by immunofluorescent localization of actin within cultured skin fibroblasts, prior to manifestation of any colonic symptoms.

Actins↗

Plasminogen activator production accompanies loss of anchorage regulation in transformation of primary rat embryo cells by simian virus 40.

We have isolated several lines of rat embryo cells transformed by simian virus 40. All these lines are fully transformed with regard to saturation density and serum sensitivity, but they differ greatly in their anchorage dependence, as assayed by efficiency of plating in methyl cellulose suspension. This set of lines reveals a consistent relation of plasminogen activator production to plating efficiency in methyl cellulose. T-antigen-positive transformed lines that synthesize activator grow in methyl cellulose suspension, while T-antigen-positive transformed lines that do not synthesize activator fail to form colonies in suspension. Normal rat embryo cells produce very little plasminogen activator and do not grow in methyl cellulose. Sera that permit high levels of plasmin formation and activity support growth in semi-solid medium better than sera whose plasminogen is activated poorly and/or sera that contain inhibitors to plasmin.

Animals↗

Defining poverty.

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