Enhancement of melanotic expression in cultured mouse melanoma cells by retinoids

Retinoic acid (RA), which reduces the rate of cell proliferation in S91 mouse melanoma clone C2 cells, was found to stimulate the expression of their melanotic phenotype. RA treatment also induced the extension of long cellular processes. The RA effects on melanogenesis included stimulation of tyrosinase activity and augmentation of cellular melanin content to levels 3- to 4-fold higher than in untreated cultures at similar cell densities. These effects became apparent after 48 hours of exposure to 10(-5) M RA and increased thereafter. Half-maximal stimulation in cells treated for 6 days occurred at 5 X 10(-7) M RA. Although the degrees of melanogenesis enhancement by RA (10(-5) M) and by alpha-melanocyte stimulatory hormone (2 X 10(-7) M) were similar, the former did not alter the intracellular cAMP level, whereas the latter induced a transient 4-fold increase. In high-passage (p28) cells, as well as in low-passage cells (less than p10) treated with tyrosinase inhibitor phenylthiocarbamate, melanin synthesis was suppressed in the absence and presence of RA, yet the ability of RA to inhibit cell proliferation was not compromised. In the presence of the tumor promotor phorbol myristate acetate (greater than 5 X 10(-9) M) melanin synthesis in control as well as in cells exposed to RA was dramatically inhibited. Phorbol which is not active in tumor promotion had no effect on melanogenesis. In addition to RA, other retinoids, such as 13-cis-retinoic acid, retinyl acetate, the TMMP analog of RA and the phenyl analog of RA, but not the pyridyl analog of RA or retinyl palmitate, also inhibited cell growth and enhanced melanin synthesis.     

Characterization of the morphological, growth, and steroidogenic effect of TPA on mouse Y-1 adrenal cortical tumor cells in culture

The tumor-promoting agent 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) caused a time- and dose-dependent morphological change in Y-1 adrenocortical tumor cells. The morphological alteration was apparent 2 hr following addition of 1 microgram/ml TPA to cell cultures and became more striking with longer treatment times. Smaller doses of TPA took a longer time to produce an effect. Cultures grown in the presence of TPA exhibited more rounding and piling up of cells than similar cultures maintained in medium lacking TPA. These TPA-stimulated morphological changes were reversible, and after 24 hr in TPA-free media, the cultured cells began to flatten. After 96 hr in TPA-free media they resembled the control cultures. The reversibility of the morphological change was also dose dependent: cells treated with 1 microgram/ml TPA took a longer time to resume the typical control morphology than did cultures treated with 0.01 microgram/ml TPA. In addition, TPA treatment resulted in a decrease in cell growth rate, an increase in steroid production, and an increase in the localization of free catalytic units of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in the cytoplasm. The steroidogenic effect of ACTH on the cell population was inhibited in cultures maintained in TPA. The results of this study indicate that TPA induces morphological changes in the Y-1 adrenocortical tumor cell population while increasing steroidogenesis and the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and decreasing cell growth rate.     

Retinoic acid stability in stem cell cultures

It has been reported that retinoids, such as retinoic acid (RA) and retinol (ROL), dissolved in aqueous solutions are susceptible to oxidative damage when exposed to light, air, and relatively high temperatures, conditions that are normal for culturing stem cells. Thus, questions arise regarding the interpretation of results obtained from studies of mouse embryonic stem cells exposed to retinoids because their isomerization state, their stability in culture conditions, and their interactions with other potential differentiation factors in growth media could influence developmental processes under study. Media samples were supplemented with retinoids and exposed to cell culture conditions with and without mouse embryonic stem cells (mESC), and retinoids were extracted and analyzed using HPLC. To determine whether retinoids are stable in media supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS) or in chemically-defined, serum-free media, mESC adapted to each type of growth media were investigated. Studies reported here indicate there was little loss or isomerization of at-RA, 9-cis-RA, 13-cis-RA, or ROL in cell cultures grown in serum-supplemented media when cell cultures were maintained in the dark and manipulated and observed under yellow light. In contrast, the stability of both at-RA and ROL were determined to be greatly reduced in serum-free media as compared with serum-supplemented media. Addition of 6 mg/ml bovine serum albumin was found to stabilize retinoids in serum-free media. It was also determined that ROL is less stable than RA in cell culture conditions.     

Evaluation of the sensitive step of inhibition of chondrogenesis by retinoids in limb mesenchymal cells in vitro

The sensitive step of inhibition of chondrogenesis in vitro by retinoids was investigated in modified micromass cultures of limb bud mesenchymal cells from mouse embryos of day 11 and 12. Evaluation of chondrogenesis was performed after alcian blue staining, using a simple random hit counting of cartilage nodules. All-trans-retinoic acid, 13-cis-retinoic acid, and a newly developed arotinoid, RO 13-6298, were tested for their ability to inhibit chondrogenesis. We found that inhibition of chondrogenesis depended on the dosage and the duration of treatment with the different retinoids. Further analysis showed that chondrogenesis in limb bud mesenchymal cells from the proximal part was irreversibly inhibited after one hour of treatment, whereas distal cells showed a reduction of cartilage development only after a treatment period of 12 and more hours. In respect to the doses of the retinoids, proximal cells were about one magnitude more vulnerable than distal cells. These proximo-distal differences were obtained with 13-cis-retinoic acid at 10 micrograms/ml, with all-trans-retinoic acid at 1 microgram/ml and with arotinoid RO 13-6298 with 10 ng/ml. It is supposed that the late blastemal stage of chondrogenic differentiation before the onset of matrix synthesis is the step which is most vulnerable to retinoid treatment.     

Evaluation of anti-coccidial drugs' inhibition of Neospora caninum development in cell cultures

Eight anti-coccidial drugs were examined for their efficacies in preventing development of Neospora caninum in bovine monocyte cell cultures. Lasalocid sodium (0.05 microgram/ml), monensin sodium (0.05 microgram/ml), piritrexim (0.01 microgram/ml), pyrimethamine (0.05 microgram/ml), and trimethoprim (5.0 micrograms/ml) were effective in preventing development of intracellular N. caninum tachyzoites (P less than 0.05). No differences (P greater than 0.05) in mean numbers of infected cells compared to controls were observed in cultures treated with amprolium hydrochloride (10.0 micrograms/ml), sulfadiazine (200.0 micrograms/ml), and sulfamethoxazole (200.0 micrograms/ml).     

Microfilament modification by dihydrocytochalasin B causes retinoic acid-modulated chondrocytes to reexpress the differentiated collagen phenotype without a change in shape

Primary monolayers of rabbit articular chondrocytes synthesize high levels of type II collagen and proteoglycan. This capacity was used as a marker for the expression of the differentiated phenotype. Such cells were treated with 1 microgram/ml retinoic acid (RA) for 10 d to produce a modulated collagen phenotype devoid of type II and consisting of predominantly type I trimer and type III collagen. After transfer to secondary culture in the presence of RA, the stability of the RA-modulated phenotype was investigated by culture in the absence of RA. Little reexpression of type II collagen synthesis occurred in this period unless cultures were treated with 3 X 10(-6) M dihydrocytochalasin B to modify microfilament structures. Reexpression of the differentiated phenotype began between days 6-8 and was essentially complete by day 14. Substantial reexpression occurred by day 8 without a detectable increase in cell rounding. Colony formation, characteristic of primary chondrocytes, was infrequent even after reexpression was complete. These data suggest that the integrity of microfilament cytoskeletal structures can be a source of regulatory signals that mechanistically appear to be more proximal to phenotypic change than the overt changes in cell shape that accompany reexpression of subculture-modulated chondrocytes in agarose culture.     

Either chick embryo dermis or retinoid-treated mouse dermis can initiate glandular morphogenesis from mammalian epidermal tissue

Excess retinoids can cause developing mouse vibrissa follicles to be transformed into mucous glands in organ culture. The objective was to test the hypothesis that retinoids act in this system by altering morphogenetic properties of the dermis. After inititation by retinoic acid (RA) in organ culture, glands were shown to develop further in embryonic skin grafted to the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Recombinants of 12.5 day mouse epidermis with untreated or RA-treated mouse or chick dermis were then grafted to CAM for 7 days. For homospecific recombinants, 13.5 day mouse dermis originated from 11.5 day skin cultured for 2 days, with or without 5.2 microgram/ml RA. For heterospecific recombinants, 12 day dermis came from chick embryos, previously injected with 250 microgram RA. Glands were absent from the homospecific recombinants including untreated mouse dermis, but appeared in 26% of those with RA-treated dermis. Among heterospecific recombinants, 75% of those with RA-treated chick dermis and 29% of those with untreated dermis had glands. Untreated 10-12 day chick skin contained two forms of endogenous vitamin A, retinol (4.5 microgram/g protein) and dehydroretinol (3.7 microgram/g protein), while 13-14 day mouse skin contained only retinol (1.8 microgram/g protein), as shown by high performance liquid chromatography. RA injection increased retinol and dehydroretinol in chick skin, while RA was undetectable. Thus RA can act through mouse dermis to form epithelial glands and through chick dermis to increase the incidence of glands. The glands in recombinants with untreated chick dermis may result from the higher levels of endogenous retinoids in chick skin, compared with mouse skin.     

Analysis of high dysmorphogenic activity of Ro 13-6307, a tetramethylated tetralin analog of retinoic acid.

Certain synthetic retinoids differ widely from retinoic acid (RA) in teratogenic potency, being much more or much less effective than RA. It is assumed that the potency of a retinoid may depend on the nature of its interaction with cellular binding components (nuclear retinoic acid receptors or cytoplasmic binding proteins) and, as in the case of retinoids that are mammalian teratogens, on factors that determine its accessibility to the embryo. To investigate some of the factors that contribute to potency, we used a new synthetic retinoid Ro 13-6307 that differs in structure from RA in having an aromatic ring inserted in its side chain along with gem dimethyl modification of the natural cyclohexenyl ring. Pregnant ICR mice were given a single oral dose (0, 1, or 10 mg/kg) on day 11 of gestation, and the resultant teratogenic outcome was monitored on day 17. Direct effects on cell differentiation were obtained by exposing high density cultures of limb bud mesenchymal cells to a range of concentrations (0.3 ng/ml-3 micrograms/ml) of Ro 13-6307 and scoring for chondrogenic suppression. Concentrations reaching the embryo after maternal administration of Ro 13-6307 were measured by HPLC to quantify the analog for a period of 4 h after administration of the oral dose. We found that this retinoid was 40-fold as active as RA in both inducing teratogenesis and suppressing chondrogenesis, yet its concentration in the affected embryo was only a fraction of that achieved after an equivalent dose of RA was employed in a similar protocol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Chromosomal aberrations induced by maleic hydrazide and related compounds in Chinese hamster cells in vitro.

The cytotoxic effects and chromosomal abnormalities induced by maleic hydrazide (MH) and its salts were investigated in cultured V79 cells. MH, and its potassium (K-MH) and diethanolamine (DEA-MH) salts were tested. MH was 5--14 times more cytotoxic than its salts and almost 4.5 times less toxic than the related compound, hydrazine dihydrochloride (HDC). MH salts had very weak cytotoxicity; the LD50 values on V79 cells on exposure for 3 h in vitro were (in microgram/ml) 1100 (MH), 12 000 (DEA-MH), 20 000 (K-MH), 230 (HDC) and 10 000 (NaCl). Both MH and its salts--but neither HDC nor NaCl--caused chromosomal aberrations in cultured V79 cells. The maximal frequencies of aberrant cells in cultures exposed to the compounds for 3 h in vitro were 18% (mh at 100 microgram/ml), 18% (K-MH at 20 000 microgram/ml) and 13% (DEA-MH at 20 000 microgram/ml). Maximal frequencies observed in cultures treated with HDC or NaCl were 10% (HDC at 400 microgram/ml) and 5% NaCl at 10 000 microgram/ml). Those of positive groups were 97% (N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, MNNG, at 5 microgram/ml) and 16% (ethyl methanesulfonate, EMS, at 400 microgram/ml). These frequencies of MH and its salts were 3.25--4.5 times those in untreated control cells. These results suggested that MH and its salts had weak inducibili     

Beta-carotene storage, conversion to retinoic acid, and induction of the lipocyte phenotype in hepatic stellate cells

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the major site of retinol (ROH) metabolism and storage. GRX is a permanent murine myofibroblastic cell line, derived from HSCs, which can be induced to display the fat-storing phenotype by treatment with retinoids. Little is known about hepatic or serum homeostasis of beta-carotene and retinoic acid (RA), although the direct biogenesis of RA from beta-carotene has been described in enterocytes. The aim of this study was to identify the uptake, metabolism, storage, and release of beta-carotene in HSCs. GRX cells were plated in 25 cm(2) tissue culture flasks, treated during 10 days with 3 micromol/L beta-carotene and subsequently transferred into the standard culture medium. beta-Carotene induced a full cell conversion into the fat-storing phenotype after 10 days. The total cell extracts, cell fractions, and culture medium were analyzed by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography for beta-carotene and retinoids. Cells accumulated 27.48 +/- 6.5 pmol/L beta-carotene/10(6) cells, but could not convert it to ROH nor produced retinyl esters (RE). beta-Carotene was directly converted to RA, which was found in total cell extracts and in the nuclear fraction (10.15 +/- 1.23 pmol/L/10(6) cells), promoting the phenotype conversion. After 24-h chase, cells contained 20.15 +/- 1.12 pmol/L beta-carotene/10(6) cells and steadily released beta-carotene into the medium (6.69 +/- 1.75 pmol/ml). We conclude that HSC are the site of the liver beta-carotene storage and release, which can be used for RA production as well as for maintenance of the homeostasis of circulating carotenoids in periods of low dietary uptake.     

Rat tracheal epithelial cell differentiation in vitro

Summary In vitro culture conditions enabling rat tracheal epithelial (RTE) cells to differentiate to mucociliary, mucous, or squamous phenotypes are described. Medium composition for rapid cell growth to confluence in membrane insert cultures was determined, and the effects of major modifiers of differentiation were tested. Retinoic acid (RA), collagen gel substratum, and an air-liquid interface at the level of the cell layer were required for expression of a mucociliary phenotype which most closely approximated the morphology of the tracheal epithelium in vivo. Large quantities of high molecular weight, hyaluronidase-resistant glycoconjugates, most likely mucin glycoproteins, were produced in the presence of RA when the cells were grown with or without a collagen gel and in submerged as well as in interface cultures. However, extensive ciliagenesis was dependent on the simultaneous presence of RA, collagen gel, and an air-liquid interface. When RA was omitted from the media, the cells became stratified squamous and developed a cornified apical layer in air-liquid interface cultures. This phenotype was accompanied by loss of transglutaminase (TGase) type II and keratin 18 and expression of the squamous markers TGase type I and keratin 13. The ability to modulate RTE cell phenotypes in culture will facilitate future studies investigating molecular regulation of tracheal cell proliferation, differentiation, and function.     

Cytofluorometry of lymphocytes infected with Epstein-Barr virus: effect of phosphonoacetic acid on nucleic acid.

DNA synthesis in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected lymphocytes was inhibited by phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) as measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation. PAA, at a concentration of 200 microgram/ml, inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation by human umbilical cord lymphocytes infected with EBV strain P94 but had little effect on DNA synthesis in mitogen-stimulated cells. Transformed cell lines did not develop from infected cord cell cultures treated with 100 microgram of PAA per ml. Cytofluorometric analysis showed marked increases in cellular nucleic acid content (RNA plus DNA) as early as 9 days after infection of cord cells in the absence of PAA and before significant enhancement of [3H]thymidine incorporation became apparent. Moreover, EBV led to increases in cellular nucleic acid even when 200 microgram of PAA per ml was added to cell cultures before infection. The apparent discrepancy between results obtained by [3H]thymidine incorporation and cytofluorometry is explained either by significant inhibition of cellular DNA polymerases by PAA or by a block at the G2 + M phase of the cell cycle. The data suggest that EBV initiates alterations in cellular nucleic acid synthesis or cell division without prior replication of viral DNA by virus-induced DNA polymerases.     

Reduction of benzo(a)pyrene induced chromosomal aberrations by DL-alpha-tocopherol

The antioxidant, DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the percentage of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) induced chromosomal aberrations in vitro. Chinese hamster lung (Don) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were treated with either 1 microgram/ml or 5 micrograms/ml BP for 4 to 28 h; some cultures were treated with S9 mix activated BP. Additional cultures of Don and CHO were treated simultaneously with 100 micrograms/ml of DL-alpha-tocopherol and BP. In CHO cells 1 microgram/ml non-activated BP significantly increased the chromosomal aberration percentage above the control level. Aberrations observed included breaks, gaps, fusions, rings, dicentrics, and polyploids. Chinese hamster Don cells treated with 1 microgram/ml or 5 micrograms/ml S9 mix activated BP contained significant increases in aberration percentages above the control levels. When Don cells were treated simultaneously with activated BP and DL-alpha-tocopherol for 4 h, there was a slight decrease in the total aberration frequency to less than that of cells treated with activated BP only; however, when Don cells were treated with BP and DL-alpha-tocopherol for 28 h, there was a significant reduction in the aberration percentage below that of BP-treated cells alone. Similar results have been obtained with CHO cells treated with nonactivated BP and DL-alpha-tocopherol. The results reported here provide further evidence that antioxidants may prevent the potential mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of certain polycyclic compounds.     

Induction of HL-60 cell differentiation by water-soluble and nitrogen-containing conjugates of retinoic acid and retinol

Retinoids induce the promyelocytic cell line, HL-60, to differentiate along the granulocytic pathway in vitro. A number of water-soluble and nitrogen-containing retinoids were synthesized in our laboratory [retinoyl-glucose (RAGL), retinyl-glucose (ROGL), retinoyl-adenosine (RADS), retinoyl-adenine (RAD), retinoyl-beta-glucuronide (beta RAG), and retinoyl-alpha-glucuronide (alpha RAG)]. These retinoids (10(-5) to 10(-8) M), as well as retinoic acid (RA) and retinol (ROL), were tested for their ability to induce the differentiation of HL-60 cells in vitro and to affect cell growth and viability during a 24- to 72-h incubation period. Differentiation was assessed by measuring the percentage of cells expressing the Mac-1 antigen on their cell surfaces. RA and the conjugates of RA were all quite active in inducing HL-60 cell differentiation, whereas ROL and ROGL had much less activity at equimolar concentrations. beta RAG, alpha RAG, RADS, and RAD were less toxic, whereas the glucose conjugates of retinol and retinoic acid (ROGL and RAGL) were both considerably more toxic than either RA or ROL at equimolar concentrations. All retinoids affected cell growth in a dose-dependent fashion. At 24 h, free RA or ROL was not detected in the cells after incubation with any of the retinoid conjugates.     

Retinoic acid-promoted expansion of total cellular ATP pools in 3T3 cells can mediate its stimulatory and growth inhibitory effects

Exposure of Swiss 3T3 cells to micromolar quantities of β-all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) results in either inhibition of growth or stimulation of cellular responsiveness to mitogens, depending on the length of treatment. Inhibition of growth is produced by treatment of the cells with RA for at least 48 hours. The total cellular pools of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) are markedly increased after 48-hour RA treatment and dose dependence studies show a correlation between the expanded ATP pools and the inhibitory effects. The expansion of total cellular ATP pools by retinoic acid occurs throughout the cell cycle and parallels the cell cycle-dependent fluctuations in total cellular ATP pools of untreated cells. Studies of [³H]thymidine incorporation and labeling indices in intact cells and [³H]dTTP incorporation and labeling indices in isolated nuclei of RA-treated and control cultures suggest that cellular acid-soluble nucleotide pools mediate the inhibition of DNA replication in the 48-hour-RA-treated cells. The stimulatory activity of RA for mitogenic responsiveness is demonstrated by treatment of G₀/G₁-arrested 3T3 cells with micromolar levels of RA for a maximum of 18 hours resulting in the potentiation of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-stimulated transition into S phase of the cell cycle. Marked increases in total cellular ATP and UTP pools are produced by 18-hour treatment of G₀/G₁-arrested cells with RA, before their exposure to PMA.     

Effects of retionoids on invasion of organ cultures of chick chorioallantoic membrane by adenovirus transformed cells

Summary Invasion of chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) organ cultures by rat 3Y1 cells transformed by the highly oncogenic human adenovirus type 12 (3Y1/12-10 cells) was inhibited by several retinoids tested. The anti-invasive activity of the retinoids was dependent on retinoid concentration and continuous (4d) exposure of the CAM. The 50% retinoid dose (dose effective in achieving a response in half of the organ cultures) that inhibited invasion was 0.85 μg/ml of retinol palmitate, 0.39 μg/ml of retinoic acid, or 0.16 μg/ml of retinol acetate. This dose was of the same order of magnitude as that which induced CAM differentiation, and was three-to fourfold less than the dose that caused cytotoxic damage of CAM. In addition, the retinoids inhibited 3Y1/12-10 cell growth by approximately 40% at levels over 10-fold higher than those needed for anti-invasion activity. The findings suggest that the anti-invasive activity of retinoids was at least partly due to direct induction of cell differentiation of the CAM host tissue. This work was supported by National Cancer Institute Grant CA 13231 and by University of Akron Grant RG 832.     

水杨酸对丹参培养细胞中迷迭香酸生物合成及其相关酶的影响

迷迭香酸(RA)是丹参中一种重要的酚酸类次生代谢物。为探讨水杨酸(SA)诱导子对丹参悬浮培养细胞中RA的生物合成及其相关酶的影响,考察了SA诱导子和酪氨酸氨基转移酶(TAT)的竞争性抑制剂(AOPP)对RA合成积累量、苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)和TAT活性的影响。发现在培养的第6天用浓度为6.25 mg/L的SA处理后,PAL活性在诱导后4 h出现高峰,为对照组水平的124%;RA的积累量在诱导后8 h出现峰值(5.914±0.296)mg/g。用浓度为0.1μmol/L的AOPP处理,6 h后AOPP对TAT活性影响较小(与对照组无显著差异),但明显抑制了PAL活性(为对照组水平的44%),且在PAL活性明显降低的同时RA的积累量显著减少(4.709±0.204)mg/g。进一步用0.1μmol/L AOPP和6.25 mg/L SA共处理,AOPP对PAL的抑制作用可得到一定程度的缓解,且RA的积累量较AOPP单独处理的高。表明SA可以诱导丹参悬浮培养细胞中RA积累量的增加,且在RA合成过程中PAL的限速作用比TAT明显。