Alterations in surface glycoproteins and level of sialyltransferase of cells transformed by a temperature-sensitive mutant of simian virus 40

Sialic acid changes in Dalton's lymphoma-bearing mice after cyclophosphamide and cisplatin treatment

Sialic acid changes in Dalton's lymphoma cells and other tissues of 10-12-week-old Swiss albino mice were investigated in relation to tumour growth in vivo and following cyclophosphamide (ip, 200 mg/kg body weight) or cisplatin (ip, 8 mg/kg body weight) treatment. Three to four animals of both sexes were used in each experimental group. The sialic acid level of tumour cells (0.88 micromol/g) increased with tumour progression (1.44-1.59 micromol/g; P < or =0.05) in mice. Sialic acid concentration in other tissues (liver, kidney, testes and brain) also increased (approximately 40, 10, 30 and 58%, respectively) in the tumour-bearing hosts as compared with that in the respective tissues of normal mice. In vivo cyclophosphamide or cisplatin treatment resulted in an overall decrease of sialic acid contents in the tissues. Cyclophosphamide was more efficient in lowering tissue sialic acid than cisplatin (P < or =0.01, ANOVA). It is suggested that sialic acid residues could be an important factor contributing to the manifestation of malignant properties in cancer cells in general and Dalton's lymphoma cells in particular. A significant decrease in the sialic acid content of Dalton's lymphoma cells after cisplatin or cyclophosphamide treatment may bring about specific changes in tumour cells which could be associated with tumour regression.

A unifying model of the cell proliferation emphasizing plasma membrane fluxes

The regulation of cellular growth and proliferation is perhaps the most investigated and elusive problem in cell biology and seems to be possible to solve from almost any angle of study chosen. Among the non-systemic factors that have been discussed are genetic damage, genomic control, regulation by stimulatory and inhibitory peptide factors such as EGF, chalones, and fibronectin, protein kinase activation with tyrosine phosphorylation, adenylylcyclase and cAMP, cGMP, membrane perturbations and specifically in tumours the failure of the Pasteur effect in control of glycolysis, excessive membrane ATPase activity, and excessive hydrolytic and proteolytic activities at the cell surface. This article focuses on the central role of fluxes within the plasma membrane and re-examines the possibility that changes of flux of metabolites, ions, and reducing equivalents may be the common denominator regulating cellular proliferation.

Multinucleation in mouse fibroblasts cultured in methocel medium

3T3-4E cells formed multinucleate cells with high frequency when incubated in methocel medium. The experiment with hydroxyurea and the cytological observation of mitoses showed that multinucleate cells were produced by nuclear division in the absence of cytokinesis. When transferred onto a solid substratum, most of the multinucleate cells divided within seven hours into mononucleate cells through the process of cytoplasmic division, indicating that cell spreading induced cytokinesis. Other mouse fibroblast lines examined so far showed only the low frequency of multinucleation. These findings indicate that in 3T3-4E cells cultivated in methocel, nuclear division occurred independently of cytokinesis, and that cytokinesis was also anchorage-dependent. This system will be available for studying cytoplasmic division of mammalian cells.

Isolation and characterization of a morphologic variant of Chinese hamster (CHO) cells

An epithelioid clone of Chinese hamster (CHO) cells which is spontaneously transformed was exposed to the mutagen N-methyl-N-Nitro-N-Nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), and a fibroblastic variant, clone CHO-F2, was isolated. This clone is partially reverted in several of the in vitro properties characteristic of transformed cells. When compared to wild type CHO, CHO-F2 has a longer doubling time, a lower saturation density and less piling up at high cell density, and a higher serum requirement. CHO-F2 also elaborates less plasminogen activator and has more abundant microtubules and actin cables. On the other hand, both CHO and CHO-F2 grow in agar suspension (although CHO-F2 grows with a lower efficiency), both lack detectable LETS protein, and both are tumorigenic in nude mice. Thus, expression of the individual properties frequently associated with transformation and tumorigenicity can be dissociated. The most critical biochemical change in CHO-F2 appears to be an increase in the intracellular level of cyclic AMP, when compared to CHO, and several growth and morphological properties of CHO-F2 resemble those induced in wild type CHO exposed to exogenous dibutyryl cyclic AMP. The role of cyclic AMP in expression of the transformed phenotype and the significance of individual in vitro parameters of transformation with respect to tumorigenicity are discussed.

Oligosaccharide chains of avian RNA tumor virus glycoproteins contain heterogeneous oligomannosyl cores

Chicken embryo fibroblasts (C/E phenotype) infected with subgroups B and C of the Prague strain of Rous sarcoma virus were radiolabeled with either [6-(3)H]-glucosamine or [2-(3)H]mannose, and virus was purified from the growth medium. The large envelope glycoprotein, gp85, was the only major radiolabeled component of purified virus. Pronase-digested glycopeptides from purified virus were analyzed by a combination of (i) gel filtration with columns of Sephadex G15/G50 and Bio-Gel P4 and (ii) enzymatic digestion of the oligosaccharide chains with specific exoglycosidases and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidases. The rather broad molecular weight distribution (approximately 2,000 to 4,000) for glycopeptides in these studies and previous studies in other laboratories was shown to represent actual heterogeneity in the carbohydrate moieties: (i) the glycopeptides contained both mannose-rich, neutral chains and complex, acidic chains with terminal sialic acid; and (ii) both classes of asparagine-linked carbohydrate structures exhibited heterogeneity in the size of the oligomannosyl core (a mixture of approximately 5 to 9 mannose units for the neutral structures, and 3 or 5 mannose units for the acidic structures). With the [2-(3)H]mannose-labeled glycopeptides from Rous sarcoma virus, Prague strain subgroup C, most of the oligosaccharide chains were high-molecular-weight, acidic structures, with similar numbers of 3-mannose and 5-mannose core structures.

Polypeptides of cells transformed by RNA or DNA tumor viruses

Proteins solubilized from normal BALB/3T3 cells and BALB/3T3 transformed by simian virus 40 or Kirsten sarcoma virus have been analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and tryptic peptide mapping. A large fraction of the polypeptides of the virus-transformed cells, about 30%, were different from normal cells. In contrast to the marked differences between normal and transformed cells, the polypeptides of the DNA and RNA virus-transformed cells were almost identical. These findings were observed with polypeptides stained by Coomassie Blue, or labeled with [14C]glucosamine or [35S]methionine. Pulse-chase analysis showed that most of the polypeptides were stable during 20 hr of incubation. The identity of several polypeptides was confirmed by tryptic peptide mapping.