Use of cyclosporin A in establishing Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoblastoid cell lines

We have investigated the potential for using cyclosporin A to increase the efficiency with which Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoblast lines can be prepared. Use of this immunosuppressive drug has permitted the development of a procedure with success rates exceeding 95% despite the processing of very large numbers of samples.     

Purification of the Epstein-Barr virus-determined nuclear antigen from Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoid cell lines.

The Epstein-Barr virus-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) was purified from extracts of the human lymphoid cell lines Raji, Namalwa, and B95-8/MLD by two different methods. In the first approach, the apparently native antigen was purified 1,200-fold by a four-step procedure involving DNA-cellulose chromatography, blue dexptran-agarose chromatography, hydroxyapatite chromatography, and gel filtration, employing complement fixation as the assay procedure. Such EBNA preparations specifically inhibited the anticomplement immunofluorescence test for EBNA and bound to methanol/acetic acid-fixed metaphase chromosomes. The purified antigen, which has a molecular weight of 170,000 to 200,000, yielded a single protein band of molecular weight about 48,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These data indicate that native EBNA has a tetrameric structure. In the second purification method, EBNA-containing cell extracts containing radioactively labeled proteins were incubated with anti-EBNA-positive sera, and antigen-antibody complexes were adsorbed to matrix-bound staphylococcal protein A. The bound proteins were then released with an SDS-containing buffer, and denatured EBNA was separated from antibody chains by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and visualized by fluorography. The denatured EBNA obtained in radiochemically pure form by this procedure has a molecular weight of about 48,000, so both methods yield an EBNA monomer of the same size.     

Adenovirus vector pseudotyping in fiber-expressing cell lines: improved transduction of Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B cells

While adenovirus (Ad) gene delivery vectors are useful in many gene therapy applications, their broad tropism means that they cannot be directed to a specific target cell. There are also a number of cell types involved in human disease which are not transducible with standard Ad vectors, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B lymphocytes. Adenovirus binds to host cells via the viral fiber protein, and Ad vectors have previously been retargeted by modifying the fiber gene on the viral chromosome. This requires that the modified fiber be able to bind to the cell in which the vector is grown, which prevents truly specific vector targeting. We previously reported a gene delivery system based on a fiber gene-deleted Ad type 5 (Ad5) vector (Ad5.betagal.DeltaF) and packaging cells that express the viral fiber protein. Expression of different fibers in packaging cells will allow Ad retargeting without modifying the viral chromosome. Importantly, fiber proteins which can no longer bind to the producer cells can also be used. Using this approach, we generated for the first time pseudotyped Ad5.betagal.DeltaF particles containing either the wild-type Ad5 fiber protein or a chimeric fiber with the receptor-binding knob domain of the Ad3 fiber. Particles equipped with the chimeric fiber bound to the Ad3 receptor rather than the coxsackievirus-adenovirus receptor protein used by Ad5. EBV-transformed B lymphocytes were infected efficiently by the Ad3-pseudotyped particles but poorly by virus containing the Ad5 fiber protein. The strategy described here represents a broadly applicable method for targeting gene delivery to specific cell types.     

Biochemical and ultrastructural findings in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid cell lines from type 1 Gaucher disease

Lymphoid cell lines established by Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-transformation of peripheral blood B-lymphocytes from patients affected with type 1 Gaucher disease showed a severe deficiency of glucosylceramide-beta-glucosidase activity (residual activity around 15%-30% of control activity). Ultrastructural investigations showed, in these lymphoid cell lines from type 1 Gaucher disease, the presence of numerous membrane-bound inclusion bodies characteristic of Gaucher cells.     

An ELISA-based procedure for assaying proteins in digests of human leukocytes and cell lines, using specifically selected peptides and appropriate antibodies

Background  

We describe the application of an ELISA-based assay (the Peptidomatrix) that can be used to simultaneously identify and quantitate a number of proteins in biological samples. The biological sample (blood component, biopsy, culture or other) is first lysed to release all the proteins, without any additional separation. The denatured proteins in the sample are then digested in bulk with the desired proteolytic enzyme(s). The peptides in the digest are then assayed by appropriate antibodies, using a competition ELISA protocol.     

beta-Glucosidase isoenzymes in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid cell lines from normal subjects and patients with type 1 Gaucher disease

Lymphoid cell lines (LCL) from 3 adult patients with non-neuropathic Gaucher disease were established by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformation and were investigated from the view of enzymology. Glucosylceramide-beta-glucosidase (GlcCer-beta-glucosidase) was present in soluble and particulate fraction of LCL from normal subjects and was deficient in type 1 Gaucher LCL; the deficiency of all molecular forms, shown by electrofocusing, indicates that they are coded by the same gene. The existence of two non-specific beta-glucosidases, one soluble (minor), the other membrane-bound (major), was demonstrated in leucocytes and LCL from normals; in Gaucher LCL, these were also present in a normal range. Characteristic properties of the non-specific membrane-bound beta-glucosidase were defined: lability at acidic pH and strong inhibitory effect by detergents. These properties allowed to discriminate it from the lysosomal GlcCer-beta-glucosidase and to define optimal assay conditions for determination of residual GlcCer-beta-glucosidase activity in Gaucher disease, using artificial substrate, without interference of non-specific membrane-bound beta-glucosidase. These results demonstrate that EBV-transformed LCL represent an accurate model system for enzymatic studies of Gaucher disease.     

Sphingomyelinase and nonspecific phosphodiesterase activities in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid cell lines from Niemann-Pick disease A, B and C

Acid sphingomyelinase activity determined using the natural substrate, [choline-methyl-14C]sphingomyelin, or the chromogenic synthetic analogue, 2-N-(hexadecanoyl)amino-4-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine, was deficient in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid cell lines from Niemann-Pick disease types A and B. In contrast, lines from Niemann-Pick disease type C and "sea-blue histiocyte syndrome" showed a sphingomyelinase activity within the normal range. Bis(4-methylumbelliferyl)phosphate and bis(4-methylumbelliferyl)pyrophosphate phosphodiesterase activities were not deficient in any Niemann-Pick disease cell line. These results demonstrate the validity of such cell lines as an experimental model system for enzymatic studies of Niemann-Pick disease.     

Antigen forks: bispecific reagents that inhibit cell growth by binding selected pairs of tumor antigens

Bispecific antibodies of a new category, termed antigen forks, were constructed by crosslinking antibodies that recognized pairs of distinct tumor cell surface antigens. At concentrations of 1–100 nM, several such forks inhibited the growth of human tumor cell lines bearing both relevant antigens. The same cells were not inhibited by unconjugated component antibodies, and the active conjugates did not inhibit the growth of human cell lines that expressed lower levels of relevant antigens. The three most active antigen forks all contained monoclonal antibody 454A12, which recognizes human transferrin receptor. This antibody was conjugated respectively to antibodies 113F1 (against a tumor-associated glycoprotein complex), 317G5 (against a 42-kDa tumor-associated glycoprotein), or 520C9 (against the c-erbB-2 protooncogene product). The 317G5-454A12 fork strongly inhibited the HT-29 and SW948 human colorectal cancer cell lines, while the 113F1-454A12 fork was also effective against SW948. By designing forks against antigens of incompatible function that are co-expressed at high levels on tumor cells but not on normal tissues, it may be possible to generate reagents that inhibit tumor growth with enhanced selectivity.     

Site-directed polyclonal antibodies inhibit binding of activated estrogen receptor to DNA

We have generated three polyclonal antisera to the DNA-binding domain of the human estrogen receptor (hER). Antiserum AT2A was generated against a peptide spanning amino acids 231-245 of hER, while antisera AT3A and AT3B were generated against a peptide spanning amino acids 247-261 of hER. The interaction of these three antisera with ER has been characterized by sucrose density gradient analysis. The antisera bound to the unactivated (8S), salt-activated (4S), and heat transformed (5S) ER complex. All the antisera appeared to be site-specific since binding of salt-activated ER to the antisera was blocked by the presence of excess free synthetic peptides. Antisera AT3A and AT3B inhibited the binding to DNA of the KCl-activated 4S ER and the heat-transformed 5S ER. Although antiserum AT2A bound to ER, it did not inhibit DNA binding of activated ER complexes. The ability of antisera AT3A and AT3B to inhibit ER binding to DNA was concentration dependent. Once bound to the DNA, ER complexes were not significantly affected by incubation with the antisera, suggesting that binding of DNA to ER inhibits antibody ER interaction and renders that domain inaccessible to the antibodies. These results demonstrate that site-directed antibodies to ER inhibit binding of activated ER complexes to DNA in vitro.     

PrPSc binding antibodies are potent inhibitors of prion replication in cell lines

Conversion of the cellular alpha-helical prion protein (PrP(C)) into a disease-associated isoform (PrP(Sc)) is central to the pathogenesis of prion diseases. Molecules targeting either normal or disease-associated isoforms may be of therapeutic interest, and the antibodies binding PrP(C) have been shown to inhibit prion accumulation in vitro. Here we investigate whether antibodies that additionally target disease-associated isoforms such as PrP(Sc) inhibit prion replication in ovine PrP-inducible scrapie-infected Rov cells. We conclude from these experiments that antibodies exclusively binding PrP(C) were relatively inefficient inhibitors of ScRov cell PrP(Sc) accumulation compared with antibodies that additionally targeted disease-associated PrP isoforms. Although the mechanism by which these monoclonal antibodies inhibit prion replication is unclear, some of the data suggest that antibodies might actively increase PrP(Sc) turnover. Thus antibodies that bind to both normal and disease-associated isoforms represent very promising anti-prion agents.     

Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 5 (EBNA-5) detect multiple protein species in Burkitt''s lymphoma and lymphoblastoid cell lines.

The Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 5 (EBNA-5) is encoded by highly spliced mRNA from the major IR1 (BamHI-W) repeat region of the virus genome. A mouse monoclonal antibody, JF186, has been raised against a synthetic 18-amino-acid peptide deduced from the EBNA-5 message of B95-8 and Raji cells. The antibody showed characteristic coarse nuclear granules by indirect immunofluorescence and revealed multiple EBNA-5 species by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The B95-8 line itself and all B95-8 virus-carrying cells, whether lymphoblastoid cell lines or in vitro-converted sublines of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-negative Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) lines, were EBNA-5 positive. Among 36 cell lines carrying different EBV strains, only 10 expressed the B95-8-Raji-prototype EBNA-5 recognized by JF186; this was probably due to genetic variation in the epitope recognized by JF186, as shown for P3HR-1. Human antibodies, affinity purified against EBNA-5-JF186 immunoprecipitates, detected EBNA-5 in the majority of EBV-positive BL lines and in all lymphoblastoid cell lines containing the BL-derived viruses. Thus, EBNA-5 can be expressed by all virus isolates examined, but is down-regulated, together with other latent gene products, in a minority of BL lines which have a particular cellular phenotype. EBNA-5 was detected as a ladder of protein species of 20 to 130 kilodaltons (kDa), with a regular spacing of 6 to 8 kDa, consistent with the coding capacity of the combined BamHI-W 66- and 132-base-pair exons, together with shifts of 2 to 4 kDa, consistent with the size of the separate 66- and 132-base-pair exons. Multiple EBNA-5 proteins can be expressed by the single cell as shown by cloning of newly infected cells.     

An Epstein-Barr virus immortalization associated gene segment interferes specifically with the IFN-induced anti-proliferative response in human B-lymphoid cell lines

Immortalization of human B-lymphocytes by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with a decreased anti-proliferative response to interferon (IFN). In the present investigation we show that the resistance to the anti-proliferative effect of IFN class I on certain EBV-carrying Burkitt lymphoma cell lines is connected to the presence of the EBNA-2 gene and parts of the EBNA-5 gene of the EBV genome. Transfection of the genomic segment comprising these open reading frames into an IFN-sensitive lymphoma cell line demonstrated that it is sufficient to make cells resistant towards the antiproliferative effect of IFN class I. Expression of the EBNA-2 gene seems to be correlated with the IFN-resistant phenotype. The antiviral function of IFN, as tested by inhibition by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, and the IFN-receptor binding are not suppressed. The present results suggest that the neutralization of the anti-proliferative effect of IFN-alpha is involved in the EBV-mediated immortalization of B-cells and that the anti-proliferative action of IFN class I does not necessarily recruit the same mechanism as the antiviral effect.     

Metabolism of pyrenedecanoic acid in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoid cell lines from normal subjects and from a patient with multisystemic lipid storage myopathy

A lymphoid cell line has been established from a patient with multisystemic lipid storage myopathy and showed a major triacylglycerol storage, whereas the content of other neutral lipids and phospholipids was in the normal range. The metabolism of the triacylglycerols has been investigated in this lymphoid cell line from multisystemic lipid storage myopathy as well as in control cells through pulse-chase experiments using 10-(1-pyrene)decanoic acid (P10), a fluorescent fatty acid derivative, as precursor. After 1 h incubation, the uptake of P10 was not significantly different in multisystemic lipid storage myopathy and control lymphoid cells. The amount of fluorescent lipids synthesized by the lymphoid cells was proportional to the concentration of P10 in the culture medium. After 24 h incubation, at any extracellular concentration of P10, the content of P10-labelled triacylglycerols was much higher in multisystemic lipid storage myopathy cells than in controls. Chase experiments showed an impairment in the rate of degradation of biosynthesized triacylglycerols in multisystemic lipid storage myopathy lymphoblasts compared to controls with time of chase (the ratio P10-triacylglycerols/P10-phospholipids increased in mutant cells while it decreased in normal cells). Elsewhere, no enzyme deficiency of the neutral triacylglycerol lipase activity, has been found in multisystemic lipid storage myopathy lymphoid cells.     

Use of cyclosporin a in establishing epstein-barr virus-transformed human lymphoblastoid cell lines

Summary We have investigated the potential for using cyclosporin A to increase the efficiency with which Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoblast lines can be prepared. Use of this immunosuppressive drug has permitted the development of a procedure with success rates exceeding 95% despite the processing of very large numbers of samples. This work was supported by National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke Grants NS16367 (Huntington's Disease Center Without Walls) and NS 20012.     

The presence of anti-sheep red blood cell heterophile antibodies and their characteristics in murine schistosomiasis japonica

Sensitive methods of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using red blood cells (RBC) have been developed and were applied to the detection of anti-sheep red blood cell (SRBC) heterophile antibodies (Ab) present in sera of Schistosoma japonicum (SJ)-infected mice. The indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) was used for the purpose as well. By these methods a significant increase in the heterophile Ab levels was demonstrated in the mice particularly after 6-10 weeks of infection. The heterophile Ab in SJ-infected mice were predominantly immunoglobulins resistant to 2-mercaptoethanol treatment and had temperature-independent reactivity. In an attempt to investigate the immunological specificity of the heterophile Ab, various absorption tests were performed; Davidsohn's differential absorption test revealed that the heterophile Ab were distinct from Forssman antibody, Paul-Bunnell antibody and heterophile agglutinins known to appear in serum sickness. The heterophile Ab were absorbed only with SRBC and goat red blood cells, not with other species of RBC such as human O Rh-, O Rh+, A Rh+, B Rh+, mouse, ox, chicken, horse, rabbit, guinea pig, and rat RBC, or syngeneic tissue homogenates including brain, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, muscle, and thymus. This heterophile antibody response is not a consequence of a specific immune response directed to the antigens of SJ parasites, since absorption of the heterophile Ab with SJ adult worms or an egg preparation did not reduce the heterophile Ab level.