Uptake of amino acids and thymidine during the first cell cycle of synchronized hamster cells

Summary The net total uptake of four amino acids (valine, leucine, lysine and methionine) used at concentrations required for growth, and of thymidine at tracer concentrations, has been studied during the first cell cycle of an asparagine-dependent strain of transformed BHK cells synchronized by asparagine starvation. The rate of the total uptake of the amino acids, the free pool of the amino acids taken up, and the rate of their incorporation into protein at the cell cycle. The increase in these parameters during the cell cycle was not linear. The uptake of thymidine started before the onset of DNA synthesis and proceeded linearly beyond the peak of the S phase. The rate of accumulation of thymidine into the acid-soluble fraction also increased during the S phase, apart from a tendency to plateau off at the peak of this phase. It reached a second plateau towards the end of the cell cycle, and then declined slightly. Evidence is presented which suggests that the total quantity of protein synthesized during the cell cycle is more than the newly synthesized protein present in the cells at the end of the cell cycle; this indicates degradation and/or secretion of a substantial proportion of the newly synthesized protein. The total protein synthesized at different time points in the cell cycle appeared to contain different proportions of the amino acids used.     

Uptake of amino acids and thymidine during the first cell cycle of synchronized hamster cells.

The net total uptake of four amino acids (valine, leucine, lysine and methionine) used at concentrations required for growth, and of thymidine at tracer concentrations, has been studied during the first cell cycle of an asparagine-dependent strain of transformed BHK cells synchronized by asparagine starvation. The rate of the total uptake of the amino acids, the free pool of the amino acids taken up, and the rate of their incorporation into protein at the end of the first cell cycle were, on the average, 12-fold that at the beginning of the cell cycle. The increase in these parameters during the cell cycle was not linear. The uptake of thymidine started before the onset of DNA synthesis and proceeded linearly beyond the peak of the S phase. The rate of accumulation of thymidine into the acid-soluble fraction also increased during the S phase, apart from a tendency to plateau off at the peak of this phase. It reached a second plateau towards the end of the cell cycle, and then declined slightly. Evidence is presented which suggests that the total quantity of protein synthesized during the cell cycle is more than the newly synthesized protein present in the cells at the end of the cell cycle; this indicated degradation and/or secretion of a substantial proportion of the newly synthesized protein. The total protein synthesized at different time points in the cell cycle appeared to contain different proportions of the amino acids used.     

Dynamcis of the thymidine triphosphate pool during the cell cycle of synchronized 3T3 mouse fibroblasts

To investigate whether resting cells of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts carry out de novo synthesis of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, we determined the turnover of the thymidine triphosphate pool of G₀ cells obtained by starvation of cultures for platelet-derived growth factor. These cells were contaminated by less than 1% S-phase cells. In the absence of deoxyribonucleosides in the medium one million G₀ cells contained 5 pmole of dTTP with a turnover of 0.09 pmole/min. S-phase cells in comparison contained a 20 times larger dTTP pool with a more than 200-fold faster turnover. Our results suggest that G₀ cells carry out a slow but finite de novo synthesis of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates to satisfy the cells' requirement for DNA repair and mitochondrial DNA synthesis.     

Catabolism of thymidine during the lymphocyte cell cycle

Concanavalin A-stimulated lymphocytes degrade thymidine to β-aminoisobutyric acid. Thymidine-catabolizing enzymes are active in the cells during G1, G2 and mitosis, but activity falls to very low levels just prior to the onset of S and remains low throughout the S period. The data suggest that cell pools of thymidine are regulated by degradation.     

Foreign gene expression (beta-galactosidase) during the cell cycle phases in recombinant CHO cells

Recombinant mammalian cultures for heterologous gene expression typically involve cells traversing the cell cycle. Studies were conducted to characterize rates of accumulation of intracellular foreign protein in single cells during the cell cycle of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells transfected with an expression vector containing the gene for dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) and the lacZ gene for bacterial beta-galactosidase (a nonsecreated protein). The lacZ gene was under the control of the constitutive cytomegalovirus promoter. These normally attachment-grown cells were adapted to suspension culture in 10(-7) M methotrexate, and a dual-laser flow cytometer was used to simultaneously determine the DNA and foreign protein (beta-galactosidase) content of single living cells. Expression of beta-galactosidase as a function of cell cycle phase was evaluated for cells in the exponential growth phase, early plateau phase, and inhibited traverse of the cell cycle during exponential growth. The results showed that the beta-galactosidase production rate is higher in the S phase than that in the G1 or G2/M phases. Also, when cell cycle progression was stopped at the S phase by addition of aphidicolin, beta-galactosidase content in single cells was higher than that in exponential phase or plateau phase cells and increased with increasing culture time. Although the cells did not continue to divide after aphidicolin addition, the production of beta-galactosidase per unit volume of culture was very similar to that in normal exponential growth. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Studies on changes in DNA polymerase activity during the cell cycle in synchronized KB cells.

We have demonstrated the presence of two DNA polymerases in KB cells and studied the variation of their activities in a synchronous cell population. During the cell cycle we observed in nuclei, only one DNA dependent DNA polymerase, the 3.4 S or minipolymerase, and similarly in the cytoplasm only one enzyme, the 8.3 S or maxipolymerase. The former shows preference for native DNA and the latter for denatured DNA. Their Mg++ and K+ requirements are different and their pH optima are 8.5 and 7 for nuclear polymerase and cytoplasmic polymerase respectively. The cytoplasmic polymerase activity remains stable from one cell cycle to the other with each cell reconstituting its stock at the start of the following cycle (G1 and early S phases). On the contrary nuclear activity decreases in G2, M and early G1, then increases to a maximum in the middle of the S phase. This fluctuation in enzyme activity could be due to degradation, transfer to the cytoplasm or the association of the enzyme with the chromatin and/or the nuclear membrane after completion of DNA synthesis. Our results do not permit us to choose between these three hypotheses. However their significance is discussed in the light of the results obtained by some authors who, on the contrary, have tended to minimise the role of the minipolymerase in DNA duplication, whereas we, from our findings, ascribe a preponderant role to this enzyme. The cytoplasmic maxipolymerase (8.3 S) may simply be a storage form of the enzyme from which minipolymerase can be formed as needed.     

Polysomes in various phases of the cell cycle in synchronized plasmacytoma cells

The fraction of membrane-bound and free polysomes during different phases of the cell cycle was determined in suspension cultures of mouse plasmacytoma cells, synchronized by growth in isoleucine-deficient medium. The membrane-bound polysomes reached a maximum value (about 28 % of total polysomes) during the G 1 phase. In the S phase and G 2 phase only 18 to 20 % of the total polysomes were found to be membrane-bound. A high percentage of membrane-bound polysomes in the G 1 phase of the cell cycle agrees with the earlier finding that maximum synthesis of immunoglobulin light chain takes place on polysomes bound to the membrane in the G 1 phase of the cell cycle. The presence of a significant fraction of membrane-bound polysomes in the S and G 2 phases of the cell cycle would suggest that membrane-bound polysomes are also involved in the synthesis of proteins other than immunoglobulins.The ultrastructure of the cells during the various phases of the cell cycle was also studied. During the G 1 phase the surface of the majority of cells was distinguished by the presence of ruffles and slender villus-like cytoplasmic projections. In the S phase the surface contour tended to become smooth and even. These differences in the surface morphology may reflect the change in function which occurs during the transition from the G 1 to the S phase.     

Thymidine nucleotide synthesis and catabolism by CHO cells and their changes during the cell cycle

At 0°C, CHO cells efficiently incorporated [³H]thymidine into the nucleotide fraction, but not into DNA. Upon reincubation of asynchronous cultures at 37°C, 15–25% of the radioactivity contained in the cellular nucleotide fraction was released, in the form of thymidine, into the culture medium. At 0°C, however, radioactivity of the nucleotide fraction was retained within the cells. Similarly, dTMP phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.35) in cell extracts was active at 37°C, but not at 0°C, whereas thymidine kinase (EC 2.7.1.21) was active at both temperatures. If synchronous cultures in Gl phase were prelabeled at 0°C and reincubated at 37°C, almost all radioactivity in the nucleotide fraction was released into the medium, whereas in S-phase cultures nearly all radioactivity of the nucleotide fraction was incorporated into DNA. In synchronous S-phase cultures treated with hydroxyurea, radioactivity in the nucleotide fraction was released into the medium at a rate considerably lower than that observed for Gl-phase cells. Rates of endogenous synthesis of thymidine nucleotides were calculated from changes of cellular thymidine nucleotide content, incorporation of thymidine nucleotides into DNA and release of thymidine into the medium during reincubation of prelabeled cultures in thymidine-free medium. The results obtained (see Table III) reveal marked differences between Gl and S phases with respect to the determinants of thymidine nucleotide metabolism.     

Hormone-treated CHO cells exit the cell cycle in the G2 phase

In order to localize and identify receptor structures, the binding of radiolabeled thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) to thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting cells from rat and bovine anterior pituitaries and from a mouse TSH-secreting tumor was studied $\text{in vitro}$. The binding of TRH to rat anterior pituitaries increased linearly with the log of TRH concentration in the incubation medium. Plasma membranes were the only subcellular fractions isolated after incubation from bovine anterior pituitary and the TSH tumor which bound detectable quantities of TRH.     

Activity of thymidine kinase during the cell cycle in Tetrahymena pyriformis.

The presence of thymidine kinase has recently been reported in Tetrahymena pyriformis. The activity pattern for this enzyme was investigated during the cell cycle in both the one heat-shock per cell generation and the starvation-refeed system. Thymidine kinase was found to be a peak enzyme during S-phase in both situations. Nucleoside phosphotransferase was a continuous enzyme in the one heat-shock per cycle system, however, it closely paralleled the thymidine kinase curve during starvation and refeeding.     

Condensation of interphase chromosomes in nuclei of synchronized CHO cells

The escape of individual interphase chromosomes from nuclei of reversibly permeabilized Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells was utilized for the visualization of condensing interphase chromosomes in a cell cycle-dependent manner in synchronized cells. Major interphase chromosomal forms include: (a) mid-S-phase globular chromosomes at 3.0 C-value, (b) late mid-S-phase fibrous hemicircular forms (3.3 C), (c) late-S-phase supercoiled ribbons (3.7 C), and (d) end-S-phase elongated, bent prechromosomal structures (4.0 C).     

Adhesion and the cell cycle in cultured L929 and CHO cells

The adhesiveness of L929 and CHO-K1 cells was monitored throughout their respective cell cycles. The cell cycle stages were identified by a combination of measuring, histochemical and autoradiographic techniques. Adhesiveness was shown to be maximal during the S and late G2 phases, and minimal at mitosis. S cells adhered selectively to other S cells, while late G2 phase cells adhered selectively to other late G2 cells. Mixing of the two cell lines, L929 and CHO-K1, resulted in the S phase cells adhering to each other irrespective of the cell line to which they belonged. The phases of increased adhesiveness and selectivity coincided with a decrease in cell surface negative charge, corresponding to well documented changes in the morphology of the cells.