Persistent infection of cells in culture by measles virus. I. Development and characteristics of HeLa sublines persistently infected with complete virus

Rustigian, Robert (Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass.). Persistent infection of cells in culture by measles virus. I. Development and characteristics of HeLa sublines persistently infected with complete virus. J. Bacteriol. 92:1792-1804. 1966.-After the development of marked cytopathic effects in HeLa cultures infected with the Edmonston strain of measles virus, renewed cell growth occurred, and HeLa sublines persistently infected with measles virus were obtained. Persistent infection has occurred in a large fraction of the cells of infected clonal lines for more than 300 to 500 cell generations during a period of 6 years. One mechanism by means of which infection was maintained in the clonal lines is transmission of virus or viral subunits from cell to cell at division. Continued subculture of the persistently infected populations resulted in the virtual disappearance of cytopathic effects, a marked decrease in the amount of extracellular virus, and alterations in the cytopathogenicity of virus recovered from persistently infected populations. The intracellular virus-host cell events in late passages of the infected clonal lines appeared to be similar to those in cells of primary infected cultures at early stages of infection, as judged by the pattern of viral immunofluorescence and the very low incidence of cells with intranuclear inclusion bodies. Cultures of the persistently infected clonal lines were highly resistant to super infection by parent Edmonston virus. Cultures of one of these clonal lines were just as susceptible as normal HeLa cultures to vaccinia, herpes simplex, and polio type 2 viruses, and a simian agent, with a possible low degree of resistance to the simian agent.     

Dynamics of spreading of cells of L-929 line after the mitosis

Using time-lapse microscopy, the changes in L-929 cells shape were analyzed during a cell cycle. During this time the cells were established to pass through three spreading stages. The highest rate of the cell spreading was observed during the first 1.5 h of mitosis. In this period, the cell area increases approximately 3-3.5 times following sigmoid dependence. After a short plateau the augmentation of the cell area starts also as a sigmoid dependence. This period is longer (up to 6 h after the beginning of cell division) with an additional 1.5-fold augmentation of the cells size. Next, the augmentation of the cells area goes linearly up to the beginning of the following mitosis. After the mother L-929 cell division, the daughter cells remained to be bridged together in the fission furrow site almost in 100% cases. The structure known as an intercellular bridge is related to a late telophase. In this connected state the L-cells are spreading and migrating up to 2.13 +/- 0.06 h where upon they are separated. Transition of the daughter cells from a round shape to the spread one occurring with the simultaneous maintenance of the intercellular bridge during a strictly determined time allows us to consider this phenomenon as independent and not relating to mitosis. We suggest naming this junction between the daughter cells as the "posttelophase intercellular bridge".     

An Ultrastructural Study on Triggering of Cell Division in Young Pollen Protoplast Culture of Hemerocallis fulva L.

The ultrastructural changes of young pollen protoplasts under culture condition in Hemerocallis fulva were studied. In comparison with the original pollen grains, the pollen protoplasts had been completely deprived of pollen wall, but kept the internal structure intact, including a large vacuole, a thin layer of cytoplasm and a peripherally located nucleus. After 8 days of culture a few pollen protoplasts were triggered to cell division: some of them were just undergoing mitosis with clearly visible chromosomes and spindle fibers; the others already divided into 2-celled units. The two daughter cells were equal or unequal in size but with similar distribution of organelles inside. Besides cell division, there were also free nuclear division, amitosis and formation of micronuclei indicating a diversity of division modes in pollen protoplast culture, A series of changes occurred during the process of induction of cell division, such as locomotion of the nucleus toward the central position, disappearence of the large vacuole, increase of electron density of cytoplasm, increase and activation of organelles, diminishing of starch granules in plastids, etc. However, the regeneration of surface wall was not sufficient it contained mostly vesicles with only a few microfibrits. The wall separating the two daughter cells were either complete or incomplete. The weak capability of wall formation is supposed to be one of the major obstacles which has so far restricted sustained cell divisions of young pollen protoplasts under current culture condition.     

Toxoplasma evacuoles: a two-step process of secretion and fusion forms the parasitophorous vacuole.

Rapid discharge of secretory organelles called rhoptries is tightly coupled with host cell entry by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Rhoptry contents were deposited in clusters of vesicles within the host cell cytosol and within the parasitophorous vacuole. To examine the fate of these rhoptry-derived secretory vesicles, we utilized cytochalasin D to prevent invasion, leading to accumulation of protein-rich vesicles in the host cell cytosol. These vesicles lack an internal parasite and are hence termed evacuoles. Like the mature parasite-containing vacuole, evacuoles became intimately associated with host cell mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, while remaining completely resistant to fusion with host cell endosomes and lysosomes. In contrast, evacuoles were recruited to pre-existing, parasite-containing vacuoles and were capable of fusing and delivering their contents to these compartments. Our findings indicate that a two-step process involving direct rhoptry secretion into the host cell cytoplasm followed by incorporation into the vacuole generates the parasitophorous vacuole occupied by TOXOPLASMA: The characteristic properties of the mature vacuole are likely to be determined by this early delivery of rhoptry components.     

萱草幼嫩花粉原生质体培养启动细胞分裂的超微结构研究

萱草(Hemerocallis fulva L.)幼嫩花粉,即后期小孢子原生质体在培养8天时进入有丝分裂或已形成二个细胞。此外,还观察到游离核分裂、无丝分裂、微核形成等现象。这显示了花粉原生质体分裂方式的多样性。在启动分裂时发生一系列变化:如细胞核移位、大液泡消失、细胞质电子密度增加、细胞器增多、质体不含淀粉等。再生的细胞壁含许多小泡,很少纤丝,表现出现有培养条件下壁的形成能力薄弱。这是今后改进培养技术需要特别注意的问题。     

Further morphological studies on the behavior of Trypanosoma rangeli in the hemocytes of Rhodnius prolixus

The hemocytes of Rhodnius prolixus were analyzed during the course of infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma rangeli. The following cell types were identified: prohemocyte, plasmatocyte, adipocyte, granular cell and oenocytoid. The number of these cells changes during the infection course thus indicating a cell response to infection of R. prolixus by T. rangeli. Transmission electron microscopy showed that plasmatocytes were able to ingest epimastigote forms of the parasite, which were then found within a parasitophorous vacuole. Amorphous material was seen within the vacuole suggesting that fusion of host cell lysosomes with the vacuole took place. Intravacuolar parasites in process of digestion were observed. In addition, reaction product indicative of the presence of acid phosphatase was observed in parasite-containing vacuoles. No dividing parasites were seen within the vacuole in contrast to what was observed outside the host cells.     

"Physiological interaction" does not explain the H-2 requirement for recognition of virus-infected cells by cytotoxic T cells.

B10.A (H-2Kk, H-2Dd) ectromelia-immune T cells from secondary responses in vitro were protent killers of both infected L929 (H-2Kk H-2Dk) and infected P-815 (H-2Kd, H-2Db) target cells. Specific competition with unlabelled targets showed that two separate T cell subsets were responsible for lysis of infected L929 and infected P-815 cells. One hypothesis to account for this (a form of "physiological interaction") is that T cells which kill one target e.g. infected L929) display only one out of two possible self-complementary recognition structures, in this example the H-2Kk alloantigen, not H-2Dd, whereas T cells that lyse infected P-815 targets display only H-2Dd, not H-2Kk. This hypothesis was tested and seems untenable because of the following results: A.TH (H-2Ks, H-2Dd) ectromelia-immune, secondary cytotoxic T cells which killed infected SJL/J (H-2Ks, H-2Ds) targets were themselves inactivated by pre-incubation with SJL/J cytotoxic T cells generated in one-way mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) against BALB/c (H-2Kd, H-2Dd). A.TL (H-2Ks, H-2Dd) ectromelia-immune secondary cytotoxic T cells which killed infected BALB/c targets were themselves inactivated by BALB/c cytotoxic T cells generated in MLR against SJL/J. Thus, virus-immune T cells which lyse infected targets by virtue of shared H-2K are also displaying H-2D alloantigen, and vice versa.     

Penetration of Toxoplasma gondii into host cells induces changes in the distribution of the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum.

Fluorescence microscopy, using dyes which specifically label mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex, and transmission electron microscopy, were used to analyze the changes which occur in the organization of these structures during interaction of Toxoplasma gondii with host cells. In uninfected cells the mitochondria are long filamentous structures which radiate from the nuclear region toward the cell periphery. After parasite penetration they become shorter and tend to concentrate around the parasite-containing vacuole (parasitophorous vacuole) located in the cytoplasm of the host cell. The mitochondria of extracellular parasites, but not of those located within the parasitophorous vacuole, were also stained by rhodamine 123. Labeling with DiOC6, which binds to elements of the endoplasmic reticulum, in association with transmission electron microscopy, revealed a concentration of this structure around the parasitophorous vacuole. The membrane lining this vacuole was also stained, suggesting that components of the endoplasmic reticulum are also incorporated into this membrane. The Golgi complex, as revealed by staining with NBD-ceramide and electron microscopy, maintains its perinuclear position throughout the evolution of the intracellular parasitism.     

Sequence variability of Borna disease virus: resistance to superinfection may contribute to high genome stability in persistently infected cells

The RNA genome of Borna disease virus (BDV) shows extraordinary stability in persistently infected cell cultures. We performed bottleneck experiments in which virus populations from single infected cells were allowed to spread through cultures of uninfected cells and in which RNase protection assays were used to identify virus variants with mutations in a 535-nucleotide fragment of the M-G open reading frames. In one of the cell cultures, the major virus species (designated 2/1) was a variant with two point mutations in the G open reading frame. When fresh cells were infected with a low dose of a virus stock prepared from 2/1-containing cells, only a minority of the resulting persistently infected cultures contained detectable levels of the variant, whereas the others all seemed to contain wild-type virus. The BDV variant 2/1 remained stable in the various persistently infected cell cultures, indicating that the cells were resistant to superinfection by wild-type virus. Indeed, cells persistently infected with prototype BDV He/80 were also found to resist superinfection with strain V and vice versa. Our screen for mutations in the viral M and G genes of different rat-derived BDV virus stocks revealed that only one of four stocks believed to contain He/80 harbored virus with the original sequence. Two stocks mainly contained a novel virus variant with about 3% sequence divergence, whereas the fourth stock contained a mixture of both viruses. When the mixture was inoculated into the brains of newborn mice, the novel variant was preferentially amplified. These results provide evidence that the BDV genome is mutating more frequently than estimated from its invariant appearance in persistently infected cell cultures and that resistance to superinfection might strongly select against novel variants.     

Asymmetric cell division and neoplastic growth

Asymmetric division was formed as an evolutionary conserved mechanism of self-maintenance of cellular populations and creation of a variety of cell types during ontogenesis. Asymmetric division enables a special mechanism of determinant segregation, which further defines development of daughter cells. As a result two unequal cells are developed. Recent research demonstrates the interplay of disturbed asymmetric division of stem cells and tumorigenesis. Genes implicated in cell’s polarization and normal progression of asymmetric mitosis were identified in Drosophila. Other genes regulating asymmetric mitosis were described as tumor suppressors, and their mutations were shown to initiate neoplastic growth. Comparative study of gene expression suggests that the disturbance of asymmetric division might be one of the reasons for neoplasm progression in vertebrates.     

The absence of centrioles from spindle poles of rat kangaroo (PtK2) cells undergoing meiotic-like reduction division in vitro

Light and electron microscopy were used to study somatic cell reduction division occurring spontaneously in tetraploid populations of rat kangaroo Potorous tridactylis (PtK2) cells in vitro. Light microscopy coupled with time-lapse photography documented the pattern of reduction division which includes an anaphase-like movement of double chromatid chromosomes to opposite spindle poles followed by the organization of two separate metaphase plates and synchronous anaphase division to form four poles and four daughter nuclei. The resulting daughter cells were isolated and cloned, showing their viability, and karyotyped to determine their ploidy. Ultrastructural analysis of cells undergoing reduction consistently revealed two duplexes of centrioles (one at each of two spindle poles) and two spindle poles in each cell that lacked centrioles but with microtubules terminating in a pericentriolar-like cloud of material. These results suggest that the centriole is not essential for spindle pole formation and division and implicate the could region as a necessary component of the spindle apparatus.     

Unequal cell division and chromatin differentiation in pollen grain cells

Pinus pollen grains, normally developing, were subjected to centrifugal force, low temperature and caffeine solution. In the former two treatments, daughter cells with some abnormal directions of division, abnormal volume and chromatin dispersion were induced in pollen grains treated. Regardless of the direction of division, of the two daughter cells produced by the unequal division, the larger one contained strongly dispersed chromatin and the smaller one weakly dispersed chromatin. In the two daughter cells produced by approximately equal division, the chromatin was dispersed strongly to a similar degree, and by halfway unequal division, chromatin in the larger cell was dispersed strongly and in the smaller one intermediately. Chromatin in bi-nucleate cells induced by caffeine treatment was dispersed strongly to an identical degree. It is suggested that for the occurrence of heteronomous chromatin configuration in natural pollen grains the unequal cell division was indispensable, although the axis of division didn't directly contribute. After both the treatments of centrifugation and low temperature during microspore and embryonal cell divisions, the affected daughter cells divided in terms of the certain fixed axis of division and chromatin dispersion, instead of exhibiting abnormal development.     

Selection of Temperature-Sensitive Mutants During Persistent Infection: Role in Maintenance of Persistent Newcastle Disease Virus Infections of L Cells

Virus mutants (NDV(pi)) recovered from L cells persistently infected with Newcastle disease virus (NDV, Herts strain) are temperature-sensitive (ts) at 43 C, although the wild-type virus (NDV(o)) which initiated the persistent infection replicates normally at that temperature. To study the relationship between the ts marker of NDV(pi) and the other properties which distinguish this virus from NDV(o), NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants were selected at the nonpermissive temperature and NDV(o) ts mutants were generated by treating NDV(o) with nitrous acid. Spontaneously-occurring ts mutants in the Herts NDV population were also isolated. The different virus populations were characterized with regard to plaque size, virulence for eggs, and thermal stability of infectivity, hemagglutinin, and neuraminidase. The NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants, although no longer temperature-sensitive, retained NDV(pi) properties, whereas both spontaneously-occurring and mutagen-induced ts mutants remained wild-type in their other properties. These findings showed that the properties which characterized NDV(pi) were independent of the ts marker. However, the ts marker and the other markers of NDV(pi) were coselected during the persistent infection, and the combination of those markers appeared to be important in the outcome of NDV infection of L cells. NDV(pi) replicated productively in L cells, whereas NDV(o), the NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants, and the spontaneously-occurring ts mutants all yielded covert infections in L cells. The role of the selection of ts mutants in persistent infection was confirmed as follows: L cells were persistently infected with NDV(pi) ts(+) revertants and NDV(o) ts mutants. Virus recovered from the persistently infected cultures after eight cell passages was always temperature-sensitive and of smaller plaque size than the parental virus in chicken embryo cell cultures. Similar results were obtained with virus recovered from L-cell cultures persistently infected with two other velogenic strains of NDV, the Texas-GB and Kansas-Man strains. These results strongly suggest that selection of ts mutants during the persistent infection was not random and played a role in establishment or maintenance of the persistent infection, or both.     

Mechanisms of asymmetric stem cell division

Stem cells self-renew but also give rise to daughter cells that are committed to lineage-specific differentiation. To achieve this remarkable task, they can undergo an intrinsically asymmetric cell division whereby they segregate cell fate determinants into only one of the two daughter cells. Alternatively, they can orient their division plane so that only one of the two daughter cells maintains contact with the niche and stem cell identity. These distinct pathways have been elucidated mostly in Drosophila. Although the molecules involved are highly conserved in vertebrates, the way they act is tissue specific and sometimes very different from invertebrates.     

人c-myc转基因细胞的建立

目的:建立人c-myc转基因细胞。方法:通过成功构建c-myc逆转录病毒表达载体,并经脂质体介导转染包装细胞293T,收集产重组病毒的293T培养上清,运用NIH3T3细胞测定了病毒滴度,用适当浓度的病毒感染L929细胞,经用Zeocin选择性培养基筛选细胞。结果:得到稳定高表达c-myc基因的L929转基因细胞。结论:运用逆转录病毒转染法可得到高表达的转基因细胞。     

Formation and fate of extranuclear chromatin bodies in Tetrahymena.

The fate of extranuclear chromatin bodies (ECBs) formed by exclusion of macronuclear material at the time of karyokinesis was followed quantitatively in Tetrahymena pyriformis strain GL-I. In a logarithmic growth phase culture, 51% of the dividing cells produced one (43%) or more (8%) ECBs. Most of these gradually disappear before the next cell division, but approximately 13% are retained and carried into subsequent cell cycles. The random distribution of ECBs into anterior or posterior daughter cells, their staining and morphological characteristics, and their rapid loss in cells in starvation medium, all indicate that ECBs play no more of a role in cellular activity than that of an internally produced food vacuole.     

Actin and myosin function in directed vacuole movement during cell division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During cell division, cytoplasmic organelles are not synthesized de novo, rather they are replicated and partitioned between daughter cells. Partitioning of the vacuole in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is coordinated with the cell cycle and involves a dramatic translocation of a portion of the parental organelle from the mother cell into the bud. While the molecular mechanisms that mediate this event are unknown, the vacuole''s rapid and directed movements suggest cytoskeleton involvement. To identify cytoskeletal components that function in this process, vacuole inheritance was examined in a collection of actin mutants. Six strains were identified as being defective in vacuole inheritance. Tetrad analysis verified that the defect cosegregates with the mutant actin gene. One strain with a deletion in a myosin-binding region was analyzed further. The vacuole inheritance defect in this strain appears to result from the loss of a specific actin function; the actin cytoskeleton is intact and protein targeting to the vacuole is normal. Consistent with these findings, a mutation in the actin-binding domain of Myo2p, a class V unconventional myosin, abolishes vacuole inheritance. This suggests that Myo2p serves as a molecular motor for vacuole transport along actin filaments. The location of actin and Myo2p relative to the vacuole membrane is consistent with this model. Additional studies suggest that the actin filaments used for vacuole transport are dynamic, and that profilin plays a critical role in regulating their assembly. These results present the first demonstration that specific cytoskeletal proteins function in vacuole inheritance.