Lymphocyte stimulation by concanavalin a studied by the fluorescent probe acridine orange

Summary Viable mouse thymocytes or spleen leucocytes stained with acridine orange (AO) were divided into one part used for stimulation, and the other part for control. Analysis of cellular green-fluorescence emission enabled physicochemical changes in lymphocytes to be detected after 30 min stimulation with the mitogens concanavalin A (Con A) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). No change in fluorescence was observed with the nonmitogenic reagent wheat germ lectin (WGL) or with allogeneic cell stimulation (MLR). When green fluorescence intensity of individual cells was monitored by microfluorimetry, 30 min stimulation with Con A induced an increase, whereas PWM induced a decrease. When analysed by fluorescence spectrophotometry, Con A induced a 2 nm blue shift in emission maximum and a decrease in polarization values.Supported by grants from the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria. We are grateful to Dr. H.A. Ward for helpful discussion     

Molecular-cellular characteristic of blood lymphocytes in Hodgkin lymphoma

The molecular-cellular parameters complex has been studied on the blood lymphocytes of malignant Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients: the frequency of cells with micronuclei (MN) and chromosome aberrations; the level of DNA single and double strand breaks - OR and DR DNA (DNA comet assay), oxidative status--the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by using nonfluorescent dye that is oxygenated in the cells to fluorescent reagent and detection of fluorescence intensity after there. It was shown that the patients with LH had the increased level of DR and OR DNA, the increased frequency of cells with chromosome aberrations and the number of aberrations per cell was increased too. The concentration of ROS is increased too for the most individuals with intoxication. In the process of the chemical and radiation therapy the increase of OR DNA level, the frequency of the cell with MN has been registered. The ROS concentration correlates with the level of DNA-strand breaks. So the blood lymphocytes of HL patients before treatment differ from the lymphocytes of healthy donors. The damage of genome and the change of oxidative status have been observed that can be additive markers for the HL diagnosis, their sensitivity to the treatment and the characteristic of lymphocytes changes by this disease.     

Differential cytotoxicity of activated lymphocytes on allogeneic and xenogeneic target cells. II. Activation by phytohemagglutinin

In the preceding paper it has been shown that human or mouse lymphocytes stimulated by a variety of agents, damaged allogeneic target cells while damage of xenogeneic target cells was weak or absent. In this study, the species specificity of the cytotoxicity of PHA activated lymphocytes has been studied in greater detail. Effector cells were purified lymphocytes either from human peripheral blood, or from spleen or lymph nodes of inbred mice. Target cells were ⁵¹Cr-labeled human Chang liver cells or mouse L cells.PHA stimulated human or mouse lymphocytes were significantly more cytotoxic to allogeneic than to xenogeneic target cells. At low PHA doses at which damage of allogeneic target cells was significant, damage of xenogeneic target cells was very weak or absent. At higher PHA doses, damage of xenogeneic target cells became also significant but always remained at a lower level than that of allogeneic target cells.Prestimulation of human lymphocytes with PHA for 3 days increased their cytotoxic efficiency. Furthermore, damage of human Chang cells by human lymphocytes had a dose-response relationship similar to that valid for stimulation of DNA synthesis. However, damage of mouse L cells by human lymphocytes increased at PHA-doses at which stimulation of DNA-synthesis declined. For mouse lymphocytes, these doseresponse relationships were less clear-cut, probably due to differences in origin and survival of the effector cells. This confirms previous observations that cytotoxicity and DNA-synthesis are different but probably interdependent expressions of lymphocyte activation.     

Plasma membrane lipid organization and the adherence of differentiating lymphocytes to macrophages

Changes in the packing of phospholipids in the plasma membrane of lymphocytes occur during differentiation within primary and secondary lymphoid organs. As they differentiate, lymphocytes interact with a variety of reticuloendothelial cells, including macrophages. To investigate a possible relation between these two phenomena, the strength of the interactions between lymphocytes and macrophages was measured in vitro as a function of the tightness of packing of phospholipids on the lymphocyte surface. Strength of adherence was measured by the ability of lymphocytes to remain adherent to macrophages when subjected to increasing centrifugal forces. Phospholipid packing was assessed using the fluorescent lipophilic probe merocyanine 540 (MC540), which preferentially binds to bilayers in which the lipids are more loosely packed. Three subpopulations of murine thymocytes were resolved with respect to strength of adherence to peritoneal or thymic macrophages. To determine whether these subpopulations corresponded with the three classes of cells distinguishable by MC540 fluorescence, populations enriched for staining or non-staining cells, and cells sorted on the basis of MC540 fluorescence intensity, were examined. The least fluorescent cells were the least strongly adherent; the most fluorescent cells were the most strongly adherent; and cells of intermediate fluorescence had intermediate adherence. When splenic lymphocytes were examined with respect to adherence to peritoneal or splenic macrophages, similar patterns of fluorescence and adherence were seen. These results suggest that the organization of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer of lymphocytes may be involved in their interactions with macrophages during primary and secondary differentiation. The adherence signal for lymphocytes thus may be similar to that proposed for other blood cells.     

Flow microfluorometric analysis of cellular DNA: Critical comparison of mithramycin and propidium iodide

Mithramycin and propidium iodide were used to stain HeLa cells, human lymphoma cells, and phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes for flow microfluorometric analysis of cellular DNA. The stains provided similar estimates for the proliferative fraction of the populations. However, significant differences in the relative fluorescent intensity were demonstrated in the three cell populations. Fluorescent intensity of HeLa and lymphoma cells stained with mithramycin was higher than matched propidium iodide-stained cells. Normal lymphocytes showed greater fluorescent intensity when stained with propidium iodide. Differences in the staining behavior of these two dyes may prove to be highly informative probes of chromatin structural differences.     

Generation of cytotoxicity with various MHC class I restrictions against autologous LCL by stimulating the lymphocytes with autologous and/or allogeneic LCLs sharing HLA alleles with the responder.

We exposed human blood lymphocytes to autologous and to allogeneic lymphoblastoid lines (LCLs), each alone or in combination, and analyzed the MHC Class I restriction pattern of the generated auto-LCL reactive cytotoxicity. In the cultures of two EBV-seropositive, HLA A11-positive individuals the majority of cytotoxic lymphocytes generated after repeated stimulation with autologous LCL were restricted by this molecule. One of the cultures was subjected to various stimulation strategies. A relatively low proportion of HLA A2- and HLA B7-restricted cytotoxic T cells could be detected in the autostimulated cultures. Such cells were enriched at the expense of A11-restricted ones by stimulating with allogeneic LCLs which lacked HLA A11 but expressed A2 or B7. Interestingly, stimulation of the lymphocytes with only allogeneic LCL also generated autoreactive CTLs. Thus, by including or using exclusively allogeneic LCL stimulators, the CTL fractions represented by few cells could be enriched.     

Fluorescent analysis of irradiation-induced changes in chromatin state

A fluorescent technique with Hoechst-33258 and acridine orange staining was used to assess changes in chromatin state induced by radiation. Fluorochromes with different modes of binding to DNA were chosen. In T lymphocytes chronic irradiation caused a rearrangement of binding between nonhiston proteins and lipids accompanied by conformational changes in DNA, resulting in chromatin condensation. The decrease in fluorescence probably resulted from a reduction in the number of sites accessible for dye binding. After acute irradiation, the fluorescence intensity decreases predominantly due to double-strand breaks.     

Flow cytometric detection of lymphocyte alterations in Huntington's disease

Several recent reports indicate that patients with Huntington's Disease (HD) may manifest membrane abnormalities in a wide variety of cells including peripheral blood lymphocytes. In this study, flow cytometry is used in conjunction with the fluorescent membrane probe, 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS), to examine peripheral blood lymphocytes from 16 HD patients and 14 age- and diet-matched control subjects. Increased ANS fluorescence intensity of lymphocytes (p less than 0.02) was found in HD patients as compared to control subjects. These differences are masked when the mean fluorescence of the total leukocyte population is measured, possibly explaining conflicting data of other investigators. These observed differences in ANS fluorescence intensity between HD patients and control subjects support the concept of a gene defect which may be expressed as membrane alterations in non-neural as well as neural cells. The selective alterations of lymphocytes may also reflect altered immunological activity reported in HD.     

Fluorescent probe-indicator of differences between T- and B-lymphocytes in the blood]

A new physico-chemical marker for the human peripheral blood lymphocytes was worked out. The lymphocytes were vitally stained with the fluorescent probe 3-methoxybenzanthrone and measured by microfluorometry. The blood lymphocytes population was found to be heterogeneous; this population consists of the two main groups of cells differing by the intensity of their fluorescence. By means of immunological lymphocyte fractionation it was shown that one of these cell groups was represented by T-lymphocytes, and the other one--by B-lymphocytes.     

A flow cytometric analysis of the embryonic origin of lymphocytes in diploid/triploid chimeric Xenopus laevis

Quantitative flow cytometry was used to examine the embryonic origin of lymphocytes in Xenopus laevis. Reciprocal head/body transplants were made between diploid (2N) and triploid (3N) embryos of the same developmental stages ranging from neural plate to tail bud stages. Thymuses and spleens were removed from postmetamorphic chimeras. Cell suspensions were stained with the fluorescent DNA stain, mithramycin, and the ploidy (relative fluorescence intensity) of the cells was then determined by flow cytometry. All lymphocytes in the chimeras were derived from the posterior portion of the embryo. In other experiments, various regions of the lateral plate or ventral mesoderm were grafted from triploid to diploid embryos. Only transplants that included middorsal mesoderm gave rise to lymphocytes.     

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity in relation to active immunotherapy in acute myeloid leukaemia

Summary Tests comparing lymphocytes from normal controls, remission AML patients not receiving immunotherapy, and AML immunotherapy patients showed that cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) to allogeneic AML cells requires in vivo priming and in vitro stimulation by AML cells. An in vitro lymphoproliferative response to allogeneic AML cells correlated with the development of CMC in immunotherapy-primed lymphocytes, though proliferation did not always lead to CMC. This may be due to differences in the lytic susceptibility of different AML cells. AML-stimulated CMC was cross-reactive on normal allogeneic PHA-transformed lymphoblasts and on lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). There was extensive cross-reactivity on allogeneic AML targets not used as in vitro stimulators. However, LCL generally did not induce CMC to allogeneic AML cells. CMC was generally absent, except in a few tests, on autologous PHA-transformed lymphoblasts following in vitro stimulation with allogeneic AML cells. CMC on autologous AML cells was equivocal, with little evidence for cross-reactive tumour-associated antigens in AML. Whilst CMC in this system was correlated with in vivo priming by immunotherapy, it is unlikely that such restimulated lymphocytes are the mediators of host-leukaemic cell cytolysis in vivo.     

高灵敏荧光探针用于肿瘤 Ramos 细胞的快速检测

本文以聚苯乙烯纳米微球为载体,基于适体特异性识别和 DNA 杂交原理,组装了一种 DNA-CdTe 量子点纳米线,制备了具有较高荧光强度的复合型荧光探针,并成功用于 Ramos 细胞的荧光成像。该探针可以用于特异性识别肿瘤细胞,在荧光成像中信号强灵敏度高,为肿瘤细胞的检测提供一种新方法。     

Studies of the Fluorophore Sempervirene and its Complexes with DNA

Evidence that the fluorophore sempervirene binds to nucleic acids is presented. The complexes were studied by fluorescence intensity, spectra, decay lifetime, and polarization methods. Both fluorescent and nonfluorescent complexes are formed. The sempervirene is rigidly fixed to DNA. If ethidium bromide and sempervirene are bound to DNA, energy can be transferred from sempervirene to ethidium. Sempervirene is taken up by mammalian cells and appears in the cytoplasm. This unusual new probe should be useful in molecular and cellular investigations.     

Plasmodium-infected blood cells analyzed and sorted by flow fluorimetry with the deoxyribonucleic acid binding dye 33258 Hoechst.

Red cells from Plasmodium berghei infected mouse blood can be sorted on the basis of their DNA content with the bisbenzimidazole dye 33258 Hoechst. The optimal conditions for dye uptake have been established and with these conditions uninfected cells are nonfluorescent and can be completely separated from infected cells which exhibit fluorescence in almost direct proportion to the number of parasite nuclei (i.e. DNA) they contain. The number of fluorescent cells detected and their fluorescence intensity is shown to be dependent on the dye concentration and the incubation medium being used. At least a proportion of the infected cells sorted from each fluorescence peak in the cell distribution retain their infectivity in vivo with some, but not all, conditions of labeling. This technique is being used to separate minor cell populations from infected blood for biochemical and immunochemical analyses and to screen human samples for malaria infected cells.     

Xenogeneic mixed leucocyte response

Xenogeneic mixed leucocyte cultures composed of human, chimpanzee, baboon, goat, sheep, pig, and dog cells were set up with a variety of plasma culture supplements. The characteristics of the human leucocyte response to xenogeneic cells was similar to its response to allogeneic cells. Peak response to xenogeneic stimulation occurred on the same culture day as the peak response to allogeneic stimulation. Similar numbers of xenogeneic and allogeneic cells produced peak stimulation of cells from any one individual. There was, however, a wide variation in the response of human lymphocytes to both allogeneic and xenogeneic cells. A factor in the plasma supplement specific for responding or stimulating cells inhibited the mixed leucocyte response in some combinations and could be removed by absorption techniques.     

Detection of glucose-induced conformational change in hexokinase II using fluorescence complementation assay

Conformational changes in hexokinase are induced by its binding to glucose, thus providing an excellent example of an ‘induced fit’ model. To observe glucose-induced fluorescence restoration in hexokinase II using split-enhanced, green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in a process involving the reconstitution of split EGFP, E. coli cells expressing the chimeric NEGFP:HXK:CEGFP recombinant protein were treated with glucose and visualized via fluorescence read-outs. The reconstituted EGFP generated a strong fluorescence upon glucose stimulation of the bacteria. Moreover, the fluorescence intensity became stronger with increasing glucose up to 10 mM, with a maximum being observed after 60 min in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Conformational changes associated with glucose-induced fit in human hexokinase II can thus be monitored successfully in vivo via fluorescence reconstitution assays, coupled with a quick and easy fluorescent read-out protocol.     

Flow cytometric analysis of RNA content in different cell populations using pyronin Y and methyl green

Pyronin Y (PY) was used, in flow cytometric (FCM) systems, to estimate the RNA content per cell in formalin fixed EL4 leukosis tumor cells, enzyme dispersed R3327-G rat prostatic adenocarcinoma cells, mouse spleen cells stimulated with concanavalin A, and human peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. Preincubation of the cells with methyl green (MG) blocked PY binding to DNA such that the intracellular fluorescence from MG-PY was due primarily to its binding to RNA. Treatment of the cells with ribonuclease resulted in a 3- to 5-fold reduction in the fluorescence intensity of intracellular MG-PY. Mitogen stimulation of either mouse or human lymphocytes resulted in an increase in DNA (propidium iodide fluorescence) and RNA (MG-PY fluorescence) content per cell over resting levels. Further, the changes in stimulated human lymphocyte DNA and RNA contents following 24, 48, and 72 hr of cell culture were monitored. The results showed that RNA levels were significantly increased prior to that of DNA. Also, the effects of different cell cycle phase specific blocking agents on lymphocyte cell cycle traverse were investigated. We found that: a) actinomycin D inhibited the increases in cellular RNA and DNA; b) hydroxyurea inhibited the increases in cellular RNA were only slightly reduced; c) tritiated thymidine caused an accumulation of cells having high DNA and RNA contents; and d) Colcemid promoted an accumulation of cells having high DNA contents while causing a reduction of cells having high RNA contents. These results were nearly identical to reports by other investigators using the metachromatic dye acridine orange to quantitate RNA per cell. Thus, the MG-PY technique described is indicated to provide a stable and accurate measure of RNA content per cell.     

Nature of the antigenic complex recognized by T lymphocytes. IV. Inhibition of antigen-specific T cell proliferation by antibodies to stimulator macrophage Ia antigens.

We have previously demonstrated that nonimmune guinea pig T lymphocytes could be specifically sensitized with TNP-modified allogeneic macrophages after eliminating the alloreactive T cells with bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) and light treatment. This procedure allowed the unique opportunity to use anti-Ia sera directed against the Ia antigens of only the stimulator macrophages or responder T cells to determine against which cell type anti-Ia would block TNP-specific stimulation. It was found that the TNP-specific DNA synthetic response of BUdR and light-treated T cells stimulated with TNP-modified allogeneic macrophages was totally eliminated by anti-Ia sera directed solely against the allogeneic stimulator macrophage. In contrast, anti-Ia sera directed only against the responder T cells had no effect on their response to TNP-modified allogeneic macrophages. These findings indicate that macrophage Ia antigens are required for efficient T cell-macrophage interactions and raise the possibility that T cell Ia antigens may not be required for collaboration with macrophages. This latter possibility was substantiated by experiments in which we show that treating T cells with anti-Ia sera and complement to remove the Ia-positive cells either before or after priming, or both, had no effect on their ability to be primed and restimulated with TNP-modified macrophages.     

Symmetric cyanine dyes for detecting nucleic acids

A novel approach to the design of sensitive fluorescent probes for nucleic acids detection is proposed. Suitable modifications of tri- and pentamethine cyanine dyes in the polymethine chain and/or in the heterocyclic residues can result in a significant decrease in unbound dye fluorescence intensity and an increase in dye emission intensity in the presence of DNA compared to the unsubstituted dye. The sharp enhancement in the fluorescence intensity upon dye interaction with double-stranded DNA permits the application of the modified tri- and pentamethine dyes as fluorescent probes in double-stranded DNA detection in homogeneous assays.     

Imaging cytometry by multiparameter fluorescence.

A system is described for performing multicolor fluorescence image cytometry of cell preparations. After the setting up stage, the operation is automatic: the microscope fields are found and focused; then images are acquired for each fluorophore, corrected and analyzed, without any operator interaction. Human peripheral blood lymphocytes on microscope slides were used as a test system. In these experiments, three fluorescent antibodies were used to identify lymphocyte sub-populations, and a DNA content probe was used to identify all nucleated cells. The cell subset percentages determined by image cytometry were comparable to percentages obtained when cells from the same preparation were analyzed by flow cytometry. Multicolor fluorescence imaging cytometry can potentially be extended to the analysis of cells in smears, fine needle biopsies, imprints, and tissue sections.