Role of cyclic nucleotides in growth control

Microfilament bundles and cell shape are related to adhesiveness to substratum and are dissociable from growth control in cultured fibroblasts

The distribution of microfilament bundles in cells was examined using antibodies to fibroblast myosin and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. There is no correlation between the presence of bundles of microfilaments and normal growth control. A normal cell line (Balb/c 3T3) cultured on a poorly adhesive substratum showed no microfilament bundles. Similarly, a mutant cell line (AD6) with normal growth, but a rounded shape due to defective adhesiveness to substratum, showed no bundle formation. On the other hand, two transformed cell lines with a flat morphology (Swiss SV3T3 and Balb MSV-85) showed extensive bundle formation. When a transformed cell line with poor adhesiveness (MC5-5) was treated with CSP (a major surface glycoprotein of normal cells) which increases adhesiveness to substratum, the cells formed extensive microfilament bundles without any decrease in growth. We conclude that the distribution of microfilament bundles is related to adhesiveness to substratum and cell shape but not to growth properties.

The effect of adenosine-3':5'-cyclic monophosphate on the mitotic rate in regenerating Dugesia dorotocephala

Regenerating posterior sections of the flatworm, Dugesia dorotocephala, were treated with varying concentrations of 5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP), cyclic AMP (cAMP) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) for 24 h. M/2000 colchicine was added to the medium during the final 4 h of treatment to collect mitotic figures. The mitotic rate was significantly increased at 0.5, 0.1 and 0.01 mM concentrations of Bt2-cAMP. While Bt2cAMP and cAMP produced comparable results at 0.01 mM, only the Bt2-cAMP-treated organisms exhibited a significantly higher mitotic rate at the 0.1 mM concentration. Theophylline and sodium butyrate did not evoke any stimulatory effect on mitotic rate.

Role of silicon in diatom metabolism. VIII. Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP in synchronized cultures of Cylindrotheca fusiformis

Levels of the cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, were determined in four species of pennate diatoms; changes in their levels and ratios were monitored in silicon-starved and light-dark synchronized cultures of Cylindrotheca fusiformis. Content of both cAMP and cGMP changed during the cell cycles: when silicate was added to starved cultures, cAMP, cGMP and DNA levels rose rapidly; cAMP and cGMP declined befor DNA synthesis was complete and continued to fall during the events leading to cell separation. In unstarved synchronies, net synthesis of DNA continued until cell separation; 1 h before cell separation cAMP levels fell while those of cGMP rose. The results support of the proposal that cAMP and cGMP may play a part in the process of cell division in the diatom, possible involving silicon.

The deficiency of cyclic AMP responsive G1 controls in cultured malignant liver epithelial cells

Normal rat liver epithelial cells in culture were blocked outside the S phase by dibutyryl cyclic AMP while malignant rat liver epithelial cells were slowed in S phase. It is suggested that this lack of normal response to a growth inhibitory factor by malignant cells may underly their relatively autonomous growth behavior.

Studies of the influence of cyclic nucleotides on in vitro haemoglobin synthesis

The influence of various cyclic nucleotides on in vitro haemoglobin synthesis has been examined in suspension cultures of mammalian marrow cells. Over a wide range of concentrations, dibutyryl cyclic AMP (db-cAMP) was either ineffective or inhibited haemoglobin synthesis by marrow cells from rat, mouse and guinea-pig. However, 10(-3) M db-cAMP consistently stimulated haemoglobin synthesis in cultures of human, sheep, rabbit and canine cells, with the latter being most responsive. This effect, which approached in magnitude that of erythropoietin (ESF) itself, was specific for cAMP and its mono- and dibutyryl derivatives and was not inhibited by anti-ESF. Adenosine, AMP, ADP, ATP, cGMP, db-cGMP, cCMP, cIMP and sodium butyrate were either inactive or inhibitory at similar concentrations. Enhancement of haemoglobin synthesis was also observed with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, RO-20-1724. The susceptibility to ionizing radiation of the response to ESF and db-cAMP was marked, indicating that the increased haemoglobin synthesis in this system was proliferation dependent, although the response to db-cAMP was less radiosensitive. Studies with tritiated thymidine showed that about 50% of the cells which were responding to either db-cAMP or ESF were actively engaged in DNA synthesis. However, the physical characteristics of db-cAMP-and ESF-responsive cells were dissimilar as analysed by their velocity sedimentation properties. These studies demonstrate that cAMP has a major stimulatory effect on haemoglobin synthesis with cells from selected mammalian species with activity approaching that of ESF, but the target cells most responsive to these agents appear different. The results suggest that cyclic nucleotide-related mechanisms may modulate in vitro erythropoiesis.

Regulatin of uridine uptake by serum and insulin in density-inhibited 3T3 cells

Stimulation of nucleoside uptake in quiescent 3T3 cells by insulin and serum is preceded by a substantial lag phase. Our findings point to the length of the lag phase as a major target for regulation. The length of such phase varies markedly with the concentration of insulin (10(-9)-10(-6) M) or serum (0.5-10%) but it is not eliminated by high saturating levels of the activating agents. Further, variations in the temperature at which the stimulation process occurs (24-39 degrees C), addition of compounds like prostaglandin E1 (1-5 mug/ml) or theophylline (0.4 mM) and differences in the age of the cultures primarily affect the length of the lag time while the final uptake rates achieved are remarkably constant. Analysis of the temporal order of the events in the lag phase reveals that there is a discrete temperature-sensitive period located in the early and middle part of the lag, while the prostaglandin E1-sensitive step(s) appear to be toward the end of the lag. The transition from the basal to the stimulated rate of uptake is abrupt. Indeed, the kinetics of activation does not fit a sample exponential law but a high power of an exponential, suggesting that the switching mechanism involves cooperative steps. Since the transition is abrupt, the nucleoside uptake system exists largely in two alternative states either switched off or on. The regulation of the lag period is by the control of the time at which this switch occurs. On the basis of the data presented here, we propose a working hypothesis of uptake stimulation.

Glucocorticoids: effects on prostaglandin release, cyclic AMP levels and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in fibroblast tissue cultures

Glucocorticoids (GCs) reduced cyclic AMP levels and inhibited glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis in secondary embryonic mouse fibroblast cultures, when cells were incubated for short periods (30 min). The order of potency was dexamethasone greater than prednisolone greater than hydrocortisone. The effect was more marked, when cyclic AMP levels and GAG synthesis were increased by addition of PGE1. Glucocorticoids exerted no longer an inhibitory effect on cyclic AMP and GAG synthesis in cultures pretreated for 48 h with the steroids. Addition of PGE1 caused a stronger rise in cyclic AMP and GAG synthesis than in controls without GC-preincubation. This enhancement was even more pronounced, when PGE1 was added together with the GCs. The reversal of the inhibitory effect of the GCs into a potentiating effect following preincubation correlated to a reducation of endogenous PGE formation in the cultures. Short-term treatment with GCs did not reduce endogenous PGE levels, but prolonged incubation markedly decreased PGE levels. PGE formation recovered following addition of fresh medium after the 48 h incubation with the steroids, but the amount of PGE formed remained significantly lower than in untreated cultures. Non-glucocorticoid steroid hormones did not decrease PGE levels. The results indicate that the apparent loss of inhibitory activity of GCs on cyclic AMP and GAG synthesis observed after prolonged incubation may result from a reduction of endogenous PGE formation which renders the cells more sensitive to the stimulatory effect of exogenous PGE1.

The action of a single toxic dose of 2-acetylaminofluorene or allylic alcohol on the adrenals. II. Effect on adrenal cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate concentration during the 1st and 2nd day

In the adrenals of male Sprague-Dawley rats the concentration of cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) was studied 5, 10, 14, 24, 30 and 39 hours after single intoxication by 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) or allylic alcohol (ALL). Beside diurnal changes a transient elevation of adrenal cAMP concentration occurred when compared with the controls 10 hours after intoxication. Thereafter, up to the 30th hour of investigation the values of the experimental groups as well as those of the control groups were within the same range. In the final stage of the experiment (30-39 hours after application) ALL intoxication was associated with a significant increase in adrenal cAMP concentration whereas it was reduced to subnormal level following AAF intoxication. In an earlier experimental study (Danz et al. 1976) we found inverse behaviour of the proliferative activity in the adrenal cortex: cell division was intensified by AAF whereas ALL was ineffective. These results indicate that division growth and functional activities are alternating conditions also in the adrenals. The possible causes of the different effects of intoxication by carcinogens or by noncarcinogenic substances are discussed.

Growth stimulation of sparse, serum deprived and of confluent, contact inhibited mammalian fibroblasts by a preparation of 3':5'-cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase

Resting mammalian fibroblasts, either sparse and maintained in a serum-free medium, or confluent and contact inhibited, are stimulated to divide by treatment with a preparation of 3':5'-cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase. This enzyme preparation contained a low level of trypsin-like and alpha-chymotrypsin-like activity, but its effect on cell growth could not be mimicked by pure, crystallized trypsin and alpha-chymotrypsin at concentration equivalent to their contamination in the above preparation. Preincubation of the 3':5'-cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase preparation with the protease inhibitor, phenyl methane sulfonyl fulride, did not affect, either, its stimulation of DNA synthesis in fibroblasts, or its enzymatic hydrolysis of cyclic AMP.

Presence of diadenosine 5',5''' -P1, P4-tetraphosphate (Ap4A) in mamalian cells in levels varying widely with proliferative activity of the tissue: a possible positive "pleiotypic activator"

An accurate assay of diadenosine 5',5'''- P1,P4-tetraphosphate [A(5') pppp(5')A], which was shown to be formed in vitro in the backreaction of the amino acid activation step, has been developed in various cell lines in culture and in normal mouse liver or hepatoma in vivo. Use of radioactive labeling of acid-soluble nucleotides to high specific activity followed by chromatographic separation techniques yielded levels of Ap4A varying from 5 to 0.05 muM (from 30 pmol/mg of protein to 0.15 pmol), depending on the doubling time of the cell line or the proliferative state of the cells. The levels of Ap4A incells is inversely related to their doubling time, varying from 0.1 X 10(-4) of the cellular ATP levels in slowly growing cells to 20 X 10(-4) of the ATP levels of cells with rapid doubling times. The steady-state levels of ATP of different cell lines, although showing some fluctuations, are not related to the doubling time of the cells. Arrest of cellular proliferation by serum deprivation or amino acid starvation, which does not alter the cellular ATP levels more than 2-fold, does nevertheless cause a decrease of 30 to 50-fold in the Ap4A levels. Inhibition of protein synthesis by pactamycin or puromycin, or inhibition of DNA synthesis by hydroxyurea, leads to a more dramatic decrease of 50 to 100-fold in intracellular Ap4A levels. The metabolic lability of Ap4A is also demonstrated by its rapid depletion after decreases in the ATP/ADP ratio. The possibility of Ap4A being a metabolic "signal nucleotide" that is formed at the onset of protein synthesis and is active in positive growth regulation (positive pleiotypic activation) is discussed.

Effects of ionizing radiation and cysteamine (MEA) on activity of mouse spleen adenyl cyclase

In mice X-irradiated with doses of 200 R and 400 R, there was a substantial increase in spleen adenyl cyclase activity; there was similar activation by MEA. In mice given MEA before irradiation, an additive effect of radiation and the radioprotective drug was observed. On the other hand, a dose of 800 R given either alone or after pre-treatment with MEA failed to elicit any change in cyclase activity. The results indicate the importance of the adenyl cyclase system in the response of cells to irradiation and action of MEA.

Factors regulating growth and pigmentation of melanoma cells

Growth and melanization are intimately related in melanoma cells. MSH, by promoting elevated cyclic AMP levels, causes increases in melanization, cessation of growth, and gross morphologic changes in Cloudman S-91 melanoma cells. Growth inhibition results from high levels of cyclic AMP while growth stimulation occurs with lower levels. During melanization, oxidation products of tyrosine are generated which are toxic to the cells. Genetic studies have revealed that some of these processes are related through common biochemical pathways. This article reviews work of recent years on such regulatory mechanisms in melanoma.

Cholera toxin, ganglioside receptors and the immune response

Cholera toxin activates plasma membrane adenylate cyclase in all mammalian cell types. The structure-function relationship of the toxin has recently been clarified, and the cell membrane receptor identified. This information has made cholera toxin the "agent of choice" for studies in many biological systems of the possible regulatory role of adenylate cyclase/cyclic AMP. This article describes briefly our current knowledge about the toxin and its receptor. It then reviews recent research which has revealed that cholera toxin has strong modulating influences on the proliferation of normal and malignant lympocytes as well as on the initiation and expression of immune responses. The toxin has been found to inhibit DNA synthesis of B and T lymphocytes in vitro without inducing cell death and also to inhibit seems to decrease antibody secretion from plasma cells in vitro, and might also interfere with the release of other soluble immunological mediator subtances. In vivo cholera toxin induces a transient involution of the spleen and a more prolonged lymphocyte depletion of the thymus in mice; these effects appear to be mediated through the adrenal glands. The toxin inhibitors allograft rejection, and either stimulates or suppresses antibody formation depending on the timing of the toxin in relation to the antigen administration. It increases the capacity of the spleen cells to induce graft-vs-host reactions and the "allogeneic effect" on antibody production. An inhibitory effect on a normal suppressor population among the spleen cells has been identified. The findings illustrate the complex effects induced on the immune system by the probably most discriminative investigative tool available for stimulation of the adenylate cyclase/cyclic AMP system.

Cyclic nucleotides, thioldisulfide status of proteins, and cellular control processes

It is shown that cyclic nucleotides can have a variety of effects on cell division, cell shape, cell adhesion, and cell movement, depending on the cells selected and the conditions under which they are used. For example, while CHO cells elongate under the influence of exogenous dibutyryl CAMP, Y-1 adrenal tumor cells round up and polyoma-transformed 3T3 cells show no change in shape. The totality of experience with cyclic nucleotides suggests that where they have been used by cells as control elements involving the four processes listed above, they are superimposed on basic cellular processes that progress in their absence--that is, they must be acting indirectly. In attempting to understand the inhibitory action of methyl xanthines on egg development, we were forced to abandon the idea that they acted through cyclic nucleotides. We found that methyl xanthines inhibited the activation of glutathione reductase and that glutathione oxidizing agents act as mitotic inhibitors. Further, we found that tubulin polymerizability, NAD-kinase activity, and a mitotic apparatus associated Ca+2-ATP-ase were all inhibited by oxidation of some of their sulfhydryls and were activated by reduction of the resulting disulfides. These results are discussed in terms of reported cycles and activations of glutathione reductase (GR) in cells and reports that mixed disulfides of glutathione and proteins can act as substrates for GR. Using the fact that a CAMP-dependent protein kinase has been reported to be activated by glutathione, we have suggested potential sites where sulfhydryl control processes and cyclic nucleotide control processes and cyclic nucleotide control processes may interact in certain restricted cases.