Heterogeneous pathways of Ca2+ metabolism in the triggering of the proliferative process in rat thymocytes

Concanavalin A induces in rat thymocytes a calcium uptake at 1 h exposure and proliferative response after 24 h exposure. Phosphodiesterase activity parallels the proliferative response (thymidine uptake). Valinomycin, monensin and a small dose of ouabain also induce calcium uptake, but do not lead to thymidine uptake later. The latter treatments reduce, in some instances drastically, the concanavalin A response with respect to thymidine uptake. Trifluoperazine reduces the unstimulated thymidine uptake and the concanavalin A induced thymidine uptake. These results suggest that calcium has a decisive role in inducing proliferation but that some ways of increasing cellular Ca2+ concentration interfere in other steps with the DNA synthesis.     

Concanavalin A-stimulated Ca2+ uptake in rat splenocytes

Summary Commercially available concanavalin A binds Ca²⁺ with high apparent affinity. In order to dissociate concanavalin A stimulated Ca²⁺ uptake (defined as an increased association of ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ with cells) in rat splenocytes and Ca²⁺ binding to cell-bound concanavalin A, conditions were developed to remove more than 75% of the bound concanavalin A. Under these conditions concanavalin A treated cells showed a considerable increase in ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake over control. The concanavalin A stimulated uptake of ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ occurred within minutes, and required concentrations of concanavalin A which promoted [³H]thymidine uptake into these cells. Succinyl concanavalin A was less potent in promoting Ca²⁺ uptake than concanavalin A. Sodium periodate inhibited Ca²⁺ uptake at concentrations which promoted ³H-thymidine incorporation into splenocytes.It is concluded that con canavalin A promotes Ca²⁺ uptake which is not due to binding of ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ to concanavalin A. Although the concanavalin A-promoted Ca²⁺ uptake occurs at lectin concentrations that cause lymphocyte proliferation as measured by ³H-thymidine incorporation, the role of Ca²⁺ in this event remains unclear.     

Approach to the mechanism of Zajdela's hepatoma cell growth inhibition induced by concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin

Cell growth of tumour ascites cell was inhibited by concanavalin A, phytohaemagglutinin and Ricinus lectin at 2–100 μg/ml. As expected, the Ricinus lectin inhibited the protein synthesis estimated by leucine incorporation and decreased thymidine incorporation, whereas concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin stimulate the uptake and the incorporation of both leucine and thymidine, and thus, synthesis of protein and DNA. Theses results suggest that different mechanisms are involved in the hepatoma cell growth inhibition by the lectins. This difference was not related to the kinetic characteristics of the lectin interactions with the cells whihc represent a first and necessary step. It was showed that concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin as well as chloroquine inhibited the ¹⁴C-labelled asialofetuin degradation. We can conclude that Ricinus lectic present a toxic effect whereas both concanavalin A and phytohaemagglutinin show an anti-protease activity.     

Serum factors affecting the incorporation of [3H]uridine by lymphocytes stimulated by concanavalin A. Studies of the role of complement

1. Rat lymph-node cells cultured in serum and medium 199 were activated to transform and proliferate by concanavalin A. Initial cell activation was assessed by measuring the enhanced radioactive labelling of cells with [(3)H]uridine produced by concanavalin A during the first 6h of culture. 2. In medium containing serum the degree of activation was dependent on the ratio of concanavalin A to non-diffusible serum macromolecules; however, cells could be activated to a normal extent in a medium containing only diffusible molecules. This indicates that certain serum macromolecules buffer cell receptor sites against reaction with concanavalin A. 3. At high concanavalin A concentrations labelling was depressed below that of control cultures without concanavalin A. This inhibition of labelling (i) occurred in calf serum, but not in homologous serum, (ii) was removed by pretreatment of serum with various complement inhibitors, and (iii) first appeared after 1h of culture following an initial phase of cell activation by concanavalin A. Cells pre-labelled with [(3)H]uridine slowly released the label into the culture medium; this rate of release was suddenly accelerated after 1h of culture with concanavalin A if complement was present. The results suggest that inhibition of labelling requires the sequential binding of concanavalin A and then complement to the cell surface. 4. Results from experiments in which calf serum was mixed in various proportions with calf serum which had been preheated to inactivate complement, suggest (i) a requirement for complement in stoicheiometric quantities dependent on the number of cells being inhibited, and (ii) that preheated serum can inactivate complement in unheated serum. 5. The proliferative response over 3 days of culture was assessed by measuring the enhanced labelling of cells with [(3)H]thymidine produced by concanavalin A. In preheated calf serum two types of inhibition were noted. (i) A progressive inhibition at high concanavalin A concentrations so that the optimum response was shifted to lower concanavalin A concentrations as the duration of culture was extended; it is suggested that this reflects the secretion of complement by cultured cells. (ii) An inhibition of the optimum response appearing late in the culture period at high cell concentrations; it is suggested that this is due to the exhaustion of medium nutrients in most actively growing cultures.     

Interaction of levamisole and mercaptans during thymocyte proliferation induced by concanavalin A.

Levamisole enhances[³H]thymidine uptake of murine thymocytes stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A). The proliferative response of thymocytes to Con A can also be enhanced by addition of mercaptans. Six different mercaptans were examined for this effect; three of them, 2-mercaptoethanol, cysteamine, and l-cysteine, stimulated the Con A response. Addition of levamisole to an optimal stimulatory dose of 2-mercaptoethanol or cysteamine resulted in complete inhibition of cell proliferation. Three other mercaptans, penicillamine, d-cysteine, and glutathione, failed to enhance the Con A response and, in fact, were mildly inhibitory. Levamisole gave only slightly less than normal stimulation in the presence of these mercaptans. In the absence of Con A neither levamisole nor the mercaptans stimulated cell proliferation. Oxidized 2-mercaptoethanol reacted analogously to reduced 2-mercaptoethanol both in the presence and absence of levamisole. We have interpreted these results as suggesting that the effect of levamisole is dependent upon the state of activation of the lymphocyte.     

In Vitro Proliferative Activity of Spleen Cells in Mice Infected with Attenuated Salmonella typhimurium

Proliferative activity of cultured spleen cells obtained from mice 1 to 5 weeks after infection with attenuated strains of Salmonella typhimurium was examined in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin A (Con A). Spontaneous uptake of ³H-thymidine (TdR) by cells taken from infected mice at the 2nd and 3rd weeks was obviously lower than that by cells from uninfected, control mice. Cells from infected mice at the 4th and 5th weeks also showed a lower proliferative response to LPS than that of the controls. However, the responses of the cells to Con A remained virtually unchanged during the entire period. Furthermore, the reduction of spontaneous ³H-TdR uptake by the cells could be achieved also by the injection of heat-killed instead of living organisms. The T- and B-lymphocyte populations of these spleen cells were examined by the dye exclusion cytotoxic test using rabbit anti-mouse T- and anti-mouse B-lymphocyte sera, respectively. There was some alteration of the populations in the cells, but it did not correlate with the reduction in ³H-TdR uptake. Results of expriments with cultured cells reconstituted with lymphocytes and macrophages isolated from spleen cells suggested that the spontaneous reduction of proliferative activity observed in cells taken from the infected mice could be attributed to the dysfunction of macrophages.     

Limits of [18F]-FLT PET as a Biomarker of Proliferation in Oncology

Background

Non-invasive imaging biomarkers of cellular proliferation hold great promise for quantifying response to personalized medicine in oncology. An emerging approach to assess tumor proliferation utilizes the positron emission tomography (PET) tracer 3’-deoxy-3’[¹⁸F]-fluorothymidine, [¹⁸F]-FLT. Though several studies have associated serial changes in [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET with elements of therapeutic response, the degree to which [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET quantitatively reflects proliferative index has been continuously debated for more that a decade. The goal of this study was to elucidate quantitative relationships between [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET and cellular metrics of proliferation in treatment naïve human cell line xenografts commonly employed in cancer research.

Methods and Findings

[¹⁸F]-FLT-PET was conducted in human cancer xenograft-bearing mice. Quantitative relationships between PET, thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) protein levels and immunostaining for proliferation markers (Ki67, TK1, PCNA) were evaluated using imaging-matched tumor specimens. Overall, we determined that [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET reflects TK1 protein levels, yet the cell cycle specificity of TK1 expression and the extent to which tumors utilize thymidine salvage for DNA synthesis decouple [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET data from standard estimates of proliferative index.

Conclusions

Our findings illustrate that [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET reflects tumor proliferation as a function of thymidine salvage pathway utilization. Unlike more general proliferation markers, such as Ki67, [¹⁸F]-FLT PET reflects proliferative indices to variable and potentially unreliable extents. [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET cannot discriminate moderately proliferative, thymidine salvage-driven tumors from those of high proliferative index that rely primarily upon de novo thymidine synthesis. Accordingly, the magnitude of [¹⁸F]-FLT uptake should not be considered a surrogate of proliferative index. These data rationalize the diversity of [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET correlative results previously reported and suggest future best-practices when [¹⁸F]-FLT-PET is employed in oncology.     

Activation of the neutrophil by calcium-mobilizing ligands. I. A chemotactic peptide and the lectin concanavalin A stimulate superoxide anion generation but elicit different calcium movements and phosphoinositide remodeling

The relevance of phosphoinositide remodeling to calcium movements and to the physiological response of superoxide anion (O2-) generation was probed in neutrophils stimulated by the chemotactic peptide fMet-Leu-Phe and the lectin concanavalin A. fMet-Leu-Phe and concanavalin A triggered O2- generation but elicited different patterns of calcium mobilization and phosphoinositide remodeling. fMet-Leu-Phe (10(-7) M) triggered a rise in cytosolic calcium by mobilization of intracellular calcium (fura-2) and increased calcium permeability (45Ca uptake), while concanavalin A (100 micrograms/ml) elicited a rise in cytosolic calcium, primarily by uptake of extracellular calcium (45Ca uptake). fMet-Leu-Phe triggered rapid breakdown of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and phosphatidylinositol, and generation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). In contrast concanavalin A triggered breakdown of phosphatidylinositol, but not PIP2, nor was there a significant increase in IP3. However, both fMet-Leu-Phe and concanavalin A triggered a rapid biphasic increase in levels of labeled diacylglycerol (in [3H]arachidonate or [14C]glycerol prelabeled cells) and a 3-fold increase in [32P] phosphatidic acid. These results are concordant with a role for PIP2 breakdown and generation of IP3 specifically in intracellular calcium mobilization but not for other aspects of the signaling pathway for O2- generation. Calcium permeability changes were associated with elevated diacylglycerol and [32P]phosphatidic acid, although a cause and effect relationship is not apparent. Ligands such as concanavalin A enhance cytosolic calcium and trigger generation of O2- without significant PIP2 remodeling; elevated diacylglycerol and cytosolic calcium are the common events associated with ligand-induced O2- generation.     

Suppression of leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF) production and [3H]thymidine incorporation by concanavalin A-activated mononuclear cells.

The capacity of human mononuclear (MN) cells pretreated with concanavalin A (Con A) to suppress the activity of fresh phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-pulsed mononuclear cells was assessed. Con A-pretreated MN cells suppressed leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF) activity in supernatants of PHA-pulsed cell cultures and [³H]thymidine incorporation by these cells. Suppression was obtained in both allogeneic and autologous systems with mitomycin-treated, irradiated, or untreated Con A-induced cells. Lymphocytes from two patients that, following treatment with Con A, did not suppress mitogen-induced proliferative response of normal cells also did not suppress LIF production.     

The kinetics of cellular commitment during stimulation of lymphocytes by lectins

The kinetics of cellular commitment in the stimulation of lymphocytes by concanavalin A (Con A) has been analyzed by measurement of DNA synthesis, autoradiography, and histologic staining techniques. If the competitive inhibitor α-methyl-D-mannoside (αMM) is introduced into cultures of mouse spleen cells at various times after the addition of Con A, there is a gradual decrease in its capacity to inhibit the lectin-stimulated incorporation of [³H]thymidine. Addition of the saccharide 20 h after exposure of the cells to Con A had no effect on the level of the cellular response to the lectin. With increasing periods of contact with Con A, the percentage of blast cells and the percentage of [³H]thymidine-labeled blast cells increased in parallel with the total radioactive thymidine incorporated while the average number of autoradiographic grains per labeled blast cell remained relatively constant. These observations suggest that the rising level of [³H]thymidine incorporation results from an increase in the number of cells that respond to lectin stimulation and become refractory to inhibition with αMM. Once such cells become committed, they synthesize DNA at a rate independent of the length of exposure to the lectin. The combined results indicate that mouse splenic lymphocytes are heterogeneous in their capacities to respond to Con A and that different cells require different induction periods to be stimulated.     

Macrophage activation during experimental murine brucellosis: II. Inhibition of in vitro lymphocyte proliferation by brucella-activated macrophages

During infection of CBA mice with Brucella abortus strain 19, there is a massive accumulation of macrophage-like cells in the spleen with resultant gross splenomegaly. In vitro cultures of cells from these spleens show a reduced proliferative response to brucellin and to other mitogens (phytohemagglutinin, concanavalin A, and lipopolysaccharide). The effect could be overcome by the addition of high concentrations of mitogen. Removal of adherent cells from spleen populations derived from 20-day infected mice abrogated the suppressive effect. Conversely, adherent cells from the spleens of 20-day infected mice inhibited proliferation of normal spleen cell cultures. Inhibition of responsiveness of normal spleen cells by cells from the spleens of infected mice occurred even when the two populations were separated by dialysis membranes. Although proliferation was measured by uptake of tritiated thymidine, inhibition in this system was not due to the release of unlabeled thymidine from macrophages.     

An evaluation of lysosomal enzyme leakage as a factor influencing the behaviour of transformed cells.

The effect of concanavalin A on transferrin and iron uptake by reticulocytes was determined using rabbit reticulocytes and rabbit transferrin labelled with ⁵⁹Fe and ¹²⁵I and concanavalin A (ConA) labelled with ¹³¹I. In concentrations of 50–200 μg/ml ConA markedly inhibited iron uptake but did not inhibit transferrin uptake or release from the cells. ConA was itself taken up by rabbit blood cells in a manner similar to that of transferrin except that the uptake was not specific for reticulocytes but occurred also with mature erythrocytes. The inhibition of iron uptake by concanavalin and the uptake of concanavalin by the cells were both inhibited by α-methyl-d-mannoside. It is concluded that the effects observed were due to the binding of concanavalin to glycoproteins of the cell membrane, either by a direct interaction with transferrin receptors or by the production of a non-specific change in the structure of the membrane.     

Adriamycin-induced changes in the surface membrane of sarcoma 180 ascites cells

Adriamycin increases (a) the rate of agglutination of Sarcoma 180 cells by concanavalin A after brief exposure of 2–3 h and (b) membrane fluidity as measured by ESR within 30 min of exposure at concentrations of the anthracycline of 10^?7–10^?5 M. The effect of adriamycin on agglutination is not due to an increase in the number of surface receptors for concanavalin A, since the extent of binding of the lectin is not altered by adriamycin and no change occurs in the rate of occupancy of the concanavalin A binding sites by the lectin in cells treated with the antibiotic. The order parameter, a measurement of membrane fluidity, decreases in cells exposed to adriamycin and is dose-related. The results indicate that adriamycin can induce changes in the surface membrane of Sarcoma 180 cells within a brief period of exposure to a low but cytotoxic level of this agent.     

Concanavalin A induced glucocorticoid resistance in rat thymocytes in relation to glucose metabolism and glucocorticoid receptors.

Concanavalin A stimulates glucose uptake in isolated rat thymocytes, at concentrations as low as 1.0 μg/ml. The magnitude of the response is dosedependent with maximal glucose uptake (greater than 100% over control) observed over the 50–500 μg/ml range. The response to concanavalin A occurs within 5 minutes and is maximal by 1 hour. Exposure of thymocytes to physiological concentrations of cortisol has been shown previously to lead to a 15–30% reduction in glucose uptake within 20 minutes (1). Cortisol added simultaneously to or after concanavalin A has no effect on glucose uptake, but when it is added before concanavalin A, a glucocorticoid response is observed even in the face of concanavalin A-induced glucose uptake. Unlike the cortisol effect, the concanavalin A-induced increase in thymocyte glucose uptake is not inhibited by either cycloheximide or cordycepin. The antagonism between cortisol and concanavalin A may in part exist at the specific glucocorticoid receptor level, since exposure of cells to concanavalin A rapidly and significantly reduces the number of specific, saturable glucocorticoid binding sites in isolated thymocytes.     

Glutathione status of rat thymocytes and splenocytes during the early events of their ConA proliferative responses

Glutathione plays an important role in the lymphocyte mitogenic response. We have demonstrated that 2-ME increases the ConA proliferative response of rat splenocytes and in parallel, causes an enhancement of glutathione synthesis in these cells. On the other hand, 2-ME had the same action on the glutathione level of thymocytes during the late phase of their mitogenic response, but it had no effect on the [3H]thymidine uptake of these cells. To clarify this discrepancy and the role of glutathione during the mitogenic response, we studied the glutathione status of thymus cells during the early phase of the ConA-induced proliferative response in the presence or the absence of 2-ME in parallel with that of whole spleen cells and the T cell fraction of splenocytes. During the early events of the mitogenic response, i.e., during the 24th h, we observed a normal 2 GSSG/GSH + 2 GSSG ratio in cultured cells, indicating a normal redox state, and that ConA involved an increased glutathione level in thymocytes but not in whole splenocytes and in splenic T cells. 2-ME had no effect on the glutathione level of stimulated thymocytes during the early phase of the mitogenic response. This phenomenon could be related to an absence of its effect on [3H]thymidine uptake. On the other hand, 2-ME induced an enhancement of the glutathione level and [3H]thymidine uptake in the two types of stimulated splenocytes. This study suggest that thymocytes do not have the same mechanism of glutathione synthesis induction as that which occurs in splenocytes during the ConA proliferative response. This mechanism could be related to the maturation state of the T cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The effect of photosensitizing dyes on the 3H-thymidine incorporation of cells grown in vitro

The photodynamic inactivation of ³H-thymidine incorporation in mouse embryo (ME) and mouse L cells by acridine orange (AO), methylene blue (MB) or neutral red (NR) has been studied by estimating the number of nuclei capable of incorporating ³H-thymidine during a 24 h period following light exposure. In the dark NR and AO reduced the number of ME-nuclei incorporating ³H-thymidine but MB caused an increase in non-scheduled DNA synthesis. The dark effect on L cells was less but the photoinactivation of thymidine uptake was proportionally greater in these cells. Polyoma virus was shown to be capable of growing in cells whose thymidine uptake was reduced or completely stopped by photoinactivation with NR. However, if the NR damage was very great, or when AO was used to photosensitize cells, the synthesis of viral DNA was interfered with.     

Proliferation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes induced by A23187, a streptomyces antibiotic

Incubation of human peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures with streptomyces antibiotic A23187, a divalent cation ionophore, resulted in an increased rate of calcium uptake, enhanced rates of RNA and DNA synthesis, and lymphoblastic transformation. An optimal response was obtained with an initial ionophore concentration of 3–5 μM. The highest rate of thymidine incorporation was detected when the cells were labelled from the 3rd to 4th day of culture. In long-term culture the ionophore was highly toxic to the lymphocytes and optimal response was detected only if the cells were transferred to fresh medium after incubating for some hours with A23187. Both RNA and DNA synthesis, as well as calcium uptake induced by A23187 were completely inhibited if ethyleneglycol-bis-(aminoethylether)tetraacetic acid (EGTA) was present in the culture during the first 6 h of incubation. These findings support the hypothesis that calcium ion has a critical role in the mitogenic response of lymphocytes, and that calcium influx may be an important event in the initiation of proliferation. Possible mechanisms of the effects of A23187 on lymphocytes are discussed.     

Analysis of the cytotoxic effects of light-exposed hepes-containing culture medium

Summary The addition ofN-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N′-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) to RPMI 1640 medium markedly increases the production of cytotoxic products during exposure of the medium to visible light. The cytotoxicity has been analyzed by measuring uptake of [³H]thymidine by murine thymocytes cultured in preirradiated medium containing 25 mM HEPES. Complete inhibition of thymidine uptake was produced by exposing 50% of the culture medium to light for 3 h before addition of cells. The HEPES-mediated effect requires only that HEPES and riboflavin be exposed to light; other medium constituents are not necessary. Hydrogen peroxide is a principal cytotoxic agent produced in this system. It is demonstrated that most, but not all, of the inhibition of thymidine uptake can be attributed to hydrogen peroxide.     

Activation of lymphocytes by concanavalin A requires calcium ions.

Mouse spleen cells were exposed to a short pulse of the mitogenic lectin concanavalin A (con A). After removal of con A mitogenesis was measured by the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into DNA. It was found: (a) the number of cells responding to con A was proportional to the time of exposure to con A; (b) exposure of cells to con A in the absence of extracellular calcium failed to initiate mitogenesis; (c) for a mitogenic effect an extracellular calcium concentration greater than 10(-5)M was required during the time that the cells were exposed to con A.     

Effect of ouabain on macromolecular synthesis during the cell cycle in mitogen-stimulated human lymphocytes

Ouabain inhibited in a concentration-dependent and completely reversible way, the synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein in phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A-stimulated human lymphocytes without affecting the uptake of nucleosides and amino acids into the cells. On the other hand, ouabain even at very high concentrations was unable to interfere with the binding of [³H]concanavalin A. No correlation was found between the inhibition by ouabain of macromolecular synthesis and that of K⁺ transport. The inhibitor effect of ouabain on the stimulation of macromolecular synthesis could be partially reversed by higher concentrations of K⁺, due to the direct inhibition of ouabain binding. Ouabain added to the cultures at different stages of cell growth suppressed the incorporation of thymidine to various extents. Both ouabain sensitive stages fell in a period preceding the onset of mitosis and were characterized by very active thymidine incorporation. Lymphocytes were most sensitive to ouabain within the S phase. The results suggest that ouabain interferes with mitogen-triggered membrane-associated events, other than K⁺ transport, controlling mitosis at distinct phases of the cell cycle.