Reactivation of chick erythrocyte nuclei in heterokaryons with temperature-sensitive Chinese hamster cells

Electrophoretic patterns of aminoacylase-1 (ACY-1) isozymes in vertebrate cells and histochemical procedure for detecting ACY-1 activity

A histochemical procedure has been developed for staining aminoacylase-1 (ACY-1) isozymes after electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membranes. N-Formyl-L-methionine and N-acetyl-L-methionine were excellent enzyme substrates in the staining reaction. The ACY-1 isozymes from tissue culture cells of several vertebrate species showed distinguishable electrophoretic patterns. The ACY-1 isozymes in extracts of mouse, human, owl monkey, and African green monkey kidney cells each had electrophoretic mobilities different from those of peptidases S, A, and C from the same cells. Exept for African green monkey kidney (CV-1) cells, the animal species expressed a single anodally migrating ACY-1 band. Human-mouse somatic cell hybrids containing the short arm of human chromosome 3 expressed three ACY-1 bands, as would be predicted from the dimeric structure of the enzyme. CV-1 cells expressed two (or three) ACY-1 bands, suggesting the possibility that CV-1 cells contained two alleles at a single locus or two genetic loci for ACY-1.

Stimulated DNA synthesis in frog nuclei by cytoplasmic extracts of temperature-sensitive mammalian cells

Cytoplasmic extracts of proliferating cells stimulate DNA synthesis in isolated nuclei of Xenopus laevis liver. When tested by the same assay, cytoplasmic extracts of resting cells are completely inactive. When cytoplasmic extracts are prepared from cell cycle-specific temperature-sensitive mutants arrestd in the G1 phase of the cell cycle by the nonpermissive temperature, they also fail to stimulate DNA synthesis in frog nuclei. The results indicate that, to stimulate DNA synthesis in isolated frog nuclei, essentially all information of G1 cells must be present.

Failure of reactivation of chick erythrocytes after fusion with temperature-sensitive mutants of mammalian cells arrested in G1

Two temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of mammalian cell lines (AF8 and cs4D3) that arrest in G1 at the nonpermissive temperature were fused with chick erythrocytes and the induction of DNA synthesis was studied in the resulting heterokaryons. While both AF8 and cs4D3 could induce DNA synthesis in chick nuclei at the permissive temperature, they both failed to do so when arrested in G1 at the nonpermissive temperature. When S phase AF8 cells were fused with chick erythrocytes, chick nuclei were reactivated even if the heterokaryons were incubated at the temperature nonpermissive for AF8. A third ts mutant, ts111, that is blocked in cytokinesis but continues to synthesize DNA, reactivated chick nuclei at both permissive and nonpermissive temperature. It is concluded that chick erythrocyte reactivation depends on the presence of S phase-specific factors.

T antigen and initiation of cell DNA synthesis in a temperature-sensitive mouse line transformed by an SV40tsA mutant and in heterokaryons of the transformed cells and chick erythrocytes

The role of SV40 gene A product in initiation of cellular DNA synthesis was investigated, using a mouse kidney line [mKSA207] transformed by SV40tsA207. mKSA207 cells were temperature sensitive for growth, lost SV40 T antigen (Tag) when incubated in low serum at 40degreeC, and accumulated Tag in the cytoplasm when fed 10% serum and incubated at the nonpermissive temperature (39.7degreeC). Following serum addition, the percentage of mKSA207 cells synthesizing DNA was essentially the same at nonpermissive (39.7 degrees C) and permissive temperatures (33.5degreeC). The cells entered S phase asynchronously at both temperatures, but most cells entered S within 16 h, and before Tag accumulated. mKSA207 synchronized by a double thymidine block also synthesized DNA at 39.7degreesC and entered a second S phase. Tag-depleted or Tag-synchronized mKSA207, when fused with chick erythrocytes (CE), activated CE DNA synthesis. At nonpermissive temperatures (39.7degreesC), 40% of CE nuclei in heterokaryons with Tag-depleted mKSA207 displayed 3H-thymidine--labeled nuclei 28--40 h after fusion, when only 12% of CE nuclei were Tag+. The experiments indicate that SV40 gene A product probably does not have a direct role as initiator of cellular DNA synthesis.

Initiation of DNA synthesis and uptake of T antigen by chick erythrocyte nuclei in hterokaryons with SV40-transformed human cells

Nonsynchronized and hydroxyurea (HU)-synchronized SV40-transformed human cells (W98VaD) were fused with chick embryo erythrocytes (CE). The uptake of T antigen by CE nuclei was compared with initiation of chick nuclear DNA synthesis. Uptake of T antigen by CE nuclei occurred at about the same time after fusion with asynchronous as with HU-synchronized cells. CE nuclei rapidly became T antigen-positive between 16 h and 28 h after fusion and usually almost all CE nuclei were T antigen-positive by 48 h after fusion. In contrast, initiation of chick nuclear DNA synthesis occurred as a function of time after reversal of the HU block, when the host cell nuclei were also synthesizing DNA. Chick nuclear DNA synthesis occurred in many heterokaryons before the CE nuclei became T antigen-positive by immunofluorescence.