A method for discriminating murine and human chromosomes in somatic cell hybrids

Use of nude (athymic) mice for the study of hypertrophic scars and keloids: vascular continuity between mouse and implants

Hypertrophic scars and keloids appear to be unique to humans since animals are not known to form these lesions. Therefore, in an effort to develop an experimental model for their study, implants of these human lesions were made in nude (athymic) mice (nu/nu) in suprascapular subcutaneous pockets. The implants were recovered from 2 to 246 days. By histological and fine structural parameters all implants remained viable and their morphological character was maintained. Selected mice were injected with barium to confirm by microangiography vascular flow between mouse and implant. Hoechst stain for DNA, used to distinguish mouse cells from human cells, confirmed vascular anastamosis between host and implant: barium-filled vessels in the interior of the implant demonstrated human endothelial cells. Peripheral vascularization of the implant with minimal ingrowth of mouse vessels occurs during the first 8 days. Anastamosis probably occurs sometime before 16 days postimplantation, or earlier, depending upon the availability of patent microvessels in the implanted tissue. The presence of the implant does not appear to prompt a continuing vascular growth into or throughout the implant. The time frame of 16 days postimplantation should be taken into account when developing schemata of experimental or therapeutic modalities.

Condensation of all human chromosomes in phase G2 and early mitosis can be drastically inhibited by 33258-Hoechst treatment

Condensation of human chromosomes in phase G2 and early mitosis is inhibited by the fluorochrome 33258-Hoechst. This inhibitory effect is most apparent in primary diploid fibroblasts and lymphoblasts and least pronounced in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Condensation of the human Y chromosome, which contains a large heterochromatic region rich in A-T base pairs, is drastically inhibited by 33258-Hoechst treatment of fibroblasts and lymphoblasts. The difference in sensitivity of human chromosomes in different cell types to 33258-Hoechst probably reflects differences in the cell-membrane permeabilities to 33258-Hoechst.

Effects of the antibiotic netropsin on mouse ascites tumour chromosomes in vitro

The antibiotic netropsin was found to induce an increase of the aberration frequency of up to 10% and a decondensation and elongation of centromeric regions of the chromosomes in mouse ascites tumour cells cultivated in vitro.

Human lymphocyte-mouse myeloma somatic cell hybrids: selective hybrid formation

Fusion of unfractionated human lymphocytes with mouse myeloma cells resulted in proliferating hybrid colonies, almost all producting human Ig. We examined whether this high frequency of Ig production was the result of selective formation of human B lymphocyte-mouse myeloma hybrids, rather than induction of Ig genes in T lymphocytes. Unfractionated peripheral lymphocytes and B lymphocytes from patients with the common variable form of agammaglobulinemia formed proliferating somatic cell hybrid colonies. In contrast, peripheral lymphocytes from a patient with agammaglobulinema who lacked B lymphocytes, as well as albumin gradient fractions of peripheral blood which do not contain B lymphocytes, failed to produce somatic cell hybrids with three different myeloma parent cell lines. B, T, and precursor lymphocytes all had Sendai virus receptors, as witnessed by viral agglutination. We conclude that fusion of human lymphocytes with mouse myeloma cells results in selective hybrid formation, rather than activation of Ig genes in disparate cell types. Only B lymphocyte-mouse myeloma heterokaryons form hybrid cells.

Assignment of a structural gene for beta-glucuronidase to human chromosome C7

An electrophoretic technique was developed which allows the separation of human beta-glucuronidase (GUS EC 3.2.1.3.1) from the enzyme present in cultured murine. Chinese and Syrian hamster cells in one buffer system on Cellogel. Using this technique a number of independent human-mouse somatic cell hybrids have been analyzed for the segregation of GUS, other enzyme markers, and all human chromosomes. The results indicate that a structural gene for human beta-glucuronidase is located on chromosome C7.

Possible assignment of the glyoxalase I (GLO) gene to chromosome 6 using man-mouse somatic cell hybrids

A correlation between the expression or absence of human glyoxalase I and chromosome 6 (as well its markers ME1, IPO-B, and PGM3) was observed in man-mouse somatic cell hybrids. This segregation pattern indicates that the GLO gene is situated on chromosome 6.