Polyelectrolytes at the endothelial cell surface.

It is recalled that the tension in a stretched polyelectrolyte chain mechanically compensates both the coulomb interaction and the hydrostatic pressure increase around the chain in a compromise which minimises the free energy and keeps water chemical potential constant throughout. Stretching strongly favors parallel cylinder nematic order in polyelectrolyte brushes on a surface or in the slit between two surfaces when the polyelectrolyte chains function as bridges. Strong, stiffly stretched chains result when the molarity of the fixed charge distribution is larger than the molarity of the neutral salt solution with which the brushes are in equilibrium. The relevance of these two systems to the endothelial cells which cover the walls of blood vessels is discussed.     

Growth of the Escherichia coli cell surface.

Phage T6 was used as a label to follow the growth of the outer membrane in a strain of Escherichia coli temperature sensitive for the production of the T6 receptor. Extension of the surface takes place at the cell poles. Small cells extend at only one pole, whereas larger cells grow from both poles. The change from unipolar to bipolar growth appears to depend on the attainment of a particular cell size and not on completion of chromosome replication.     

Interaction of papillomaviruses with the cell surface.

To initiate an investigation of the initial step in papillomavirus infection, we have examined the interaction of bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV) virions with C127 cells by two assays, binding of radioiodinated BPV virions to cell monolayers and BPV-induced focal transformation. Under physiological conditions, the labeled virions bound to the cell surface in a dose-dependent manner within 1 h. Antibody studies indicated that the interaction was specific and related to infectivity: polyclonal sera raised to BPV virions or to baculovirus-expressed BPV L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) inhibited BPV binding and focal transformation, while sera to denatured BPV virions, to denatured BPV L1, or to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) VLPs were not inhibitory. An exception was that antisera to BPV L2 were neutralizing but did not inhibit binding. Unlabeled BPV virions and BPV VLPs competed with binding to the cell surface in a concentration-dependent manner. Binding to the cell surface appeared to depend primarily on L1, since BPV VLPs composed of L1 alone or of L1/L2 were equally effective in inhibiting binding and focal transformation. VLPs of HPV-16 also inhibited BPV binding and BPV transformation of C127 cells, suggesting that they interact with the same cell surface molecule(s) as BPV virions. Radiolabeled BPV bound specifically to several mammalian cell lines of fibroblastic and epithelial origin, as well as to a human schwannoma and melanoma lines, although some lines bound up to 10 times as many counts as others. Radiolabeled HPV-16 VLPs bound to both human keratinocytes and mouse C127 cells. The results suggest that papillomaviruses bind a widely expressed and evolutionarily conserved cell surface receptor.     

Studies of the cell surface of Dictyostelium discoideum during differentiation. The binding of 125I-concanavalin A to the cell surface.

125I-concanavalin A (125I-Con A) was found to be equally effective as native Con A in binding to and agglutinating cells of Dictyostelium discoideum, suggesting that iodination of the molecule had no effect on the interaction of the protein with the cell surface. Almost all of the 125I-Con A binding to the cells was inhibited by alpha-methyl glucoside. The binding of 125I-Con A to the cells was extremely rapid, and once bound, the molecule was not readily displaced by prolonged incubation or by the addition of excess native concanavalin A (Con A). In contrast, the 125I-Con A was displaced rapidly from the cell surface by alpha-methyl glucoside. The binding of 125I-Con A to D. discoideum was identical at 22 degrees and 4 degrees, and was unaffected by metabolic inhibitors, suggesting that the protein was not subject to endocytosis. The cell surface Con A binding sites became saturated at high 125I-Con A concentrations. Scatchard plots of the data indicated that growing cells possessed 4 X 10(7) sites/cell, all of equal affinity. Similar plots for "aggregation phase" cells indicated at least two classes of binding sites. A small proportion of the sites had an affinity close to that for the sites on growing cells, but the majority of the sites had a markedly decreased affinity. The total number of binding sites increased only slightly during aggregation to 5.6 X 10(7) sites/cell.     

Protamine interaction with the epithelial cell surface.

We have previously reported that exposing cultured Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells to the polycation protamine (PRO) results in increased short-circuit current and decreased barrier integrity as measured by mannitol permeability and transepithelial electrical resistance. To further investigate the interaction of PRO with the surface of epithelial cells, we labeled PRO with [14C] with use of reductive alkylation. [14C]PRO bound to the cells in a biphasic pattern. Approximately 10% of the [14C]PRO was bound to the cells in the first 5 min, followed by an additional 10% that was bound over the next 25 min. No additional [14C]PRO bound to the cells after the initial 30 min. Binding of [14C]PRO was inhibited by "cold" PRO, which suggested specificity. Binding was also inhibited by polyanions, serum, and albumin, agents previously found to protect MDCK cells from PRO-induced injury. The binding of PRO to MDCK cells was not inhibited by incubation of the MDCK cells with neuraminidase, to remove surface sialic acid residues, or with heparinase, to remove surface heparan sulfate, even though metabolic labeling experiments demonstrated that neuraminidase decreased cell sialic acid and heparinase decreased cell heparan sulfate. Neuraminidase and heparinase offered no protection from PRO injury and had no effect themselves on mannitol permeability. Incubation of the cells with trypsin, however, blunted both the binding of PRO to the cells and the increase in mannitol permeability after exposure of the cells to PRO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Ultrastructural labeling of cell surface lectin receptors during the cell cycle.

The distribution of specific surface receptors in the course of the cell cycle has been studied on two transformed cell lines by means of ultrastructural labelling techniques employing Concanavalin A (ConA) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Synchronized cultures of Cl₂TSV₅, an SV40-transformed hamster cell line and of CHO cells were labelled as monolayers or in suspension in the different phases of the cell cycle. In cells labelled in monolayers, a moderately discontinuous pattern of surface labelling was present during G 1, S, and G 2. On cells in mitosis, however, this pattern changes strikingly and becomes very discontinuous. These results indicate that the degree of receptor clustering is greater in mitosis than in interphase. In cells labelled in suspension, the differences in pattern between mitosis and interphase were absent. Colcemid treatment did not modify the distribution of the label, either in interphase or in mitosis. Moreover, cells in mitosis collected by Colcemid treatment and labelled at a moment in which parallel unblocked cultures had completed mitosis and passed into G 1 showed an interphase-type labelling pattern; this indicates that a certain dissociation exists between surface events and nuclear events during mitosis. These results are discussed in terms of several factors that may contribute to the production of receptor clustering, namely, direct lectin action, surface movement and membrane flow, participation of cytoplasmic structures and, finally, attachment of cells to a substratum.     

Heparin releases heparan sulfate from the cell surface.

Heparan sulfate of the cell surface of cultured Chinese hamster cells (line CHO) was promptly released when the cells were incubated with balanced salt solutions containing heparin. The released heparan sulfate included multichain proteoglycan of high molecular weight. The data suggest that the cell-surface localization of heparan sulfate is dependent, at least in part, upon cell-surface receptors with binding sites for the sugar chain moieties of sulfated glycosaminoglycans.     

Changes of cell surface configuration and regulation of cell proliferation.

The electric surface charge configuration of 3T3 and SV40-3T3 cells was characterized by determining the product of electrophoretic mobility of the cells times the viscosity of suspension medium. This quantity could be shown to change with temperature and/or treatment with calf serum or trypsin in close correlation with the effects of these agents on characteristics of cell proliferation. The present results, taken together with those of earlier studies on cell-electrophoresis and characterization of lipid constituents of the cells, support the hypothesis of a lateral phase separation in the plasmamembrane as triggering process in stimulation of proliferation of resting normal cells.     

Lectin receptors on the cell surface membrane and the kinetics of lectin-induced cell agglutination.

Agglutination of malignant transformed hamster cells by concanavalin A (ConA) and the lectins from wheat germ (WGA) and soybean (SBA) has been automatically quantitated, by measuring the amount of light transmitted through a cell suspension. The transformed hamster cells were agglutinated by SBA only after treatment with neuraminidase. The initial rate of agglutination and the concentration of lectin (K_c) required for the half-maximum rate (V_m) has been determined. The initial rate and V_m were lower and more temperature-sensitive, and the K_c was higher, for ConA than for WGA and SBA. There was no detectable temperature-dependent phase transition for the initial rate of agglutination. The total number of receptors was lower for ConA than for WGA and SBA and the apparent association constant between lectin molecules and cell surface receptors was higher for ConA (10⁷M^?1) than for WGA and SBA (1.6 × 10⁶M^?1). The half V_m of agglutination required 75% saturation of the cell receptors for ConA, and only 13–17% saturation of the receptors for SBA and WGA. A 30% decrease in the number of SBA receptors present in agglutinable cells completely prevented their agglutination. The results indicate that there is heterogeneity of lectin receptors on the cell surface and that only a small proportion of the total number of WGA and SBA receptors have to be occupied for agglutination by these lectins.     

Reagents specific for cell surface components.

Mercury, diazonium ions and dyes which bind nucleic acids were covalently linked to dextrans using methods that resulted in non-hydrolyzable reagent-dextran bonds without impairing the binding abilities of the reagents, i.e. these dextran derivatives reacted with thiols, phenols/imidazoles and nucleic acids respectively. Since these dextran derivatives cannot penetrate into cells and since dextran itself does not bind to cells, these compounds represent reagents specific for the cell surface. They may be used both to evaluate cell surface constituents of intact cells and to affect viable cells via an interaction with those constituents. Mercury-dextran was found to bind to cells; the amount of mercury thus attached to the cells was about ten times smaller than when an equivalent concentration of free mercury ions was used. Mercury-dextran, bound to cells after a 30-min exposure at room temperature, was localized on the surface of these cells, as sodium borohydride reduced this complex giving rise to the intact cells, elementary mercury and free dextran which was released into medium. When cells were constantly exposed to the mercury-dextran, its toxic effects were comparable to that of free mercury ions. Diazonium-dextran, which also binds tightly to the cell surface, was also considerably toxic. Dextrans substituted with dyes which bind to nucleic acids were less toxic than the parent dyes themselves; it was shown that the attachment of such a dye to dextran decreased the binding of dye to cells under detection limits.     

Cell surface carbohydrates in cell adhesion.

Carbohydrates are ubiquitous constituents of cell surfaces, and possess many characteristics that make them ideal candidates for recognition molecules. In many systems where cell adhesion plays a critical role, carbohydrate binding proteins have been shown to bind to cell surface carbohydrates and participate in cell-cell interactions. Such systems include fertilization, development, pathogen-host recognition and inflammation. In particular the recent discovery of the LEC-CAMs and their importance in leukocyte biology has refocused attention on lectin-mediated cell adhesion. The LEC-CAMs offer good targets for the development of therapeutics based on carbohydrate structures.     

Nucleosomes bind to cell surface proteoglycans.

Material on the surface of activated T-cells was displaced following incubation with a sulfated polysaccharide, dextrin 2-sulfate (D2S), and purified by anion-exchange chromatography. This revealed a complex comprising histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4 and DNA fragmented into 180-base pair units characteristic of mono-, di-, tri, and polynucleosomes, a pattern of fragmentation similar to that found in apoptotic cells. An antibody raised against the purified nucleosome preparation bound to the plasma membrane of activated T-cells confirming the surface location of nucleosomes. The interaction of sulfated polysaccharides with nucleosomes was investigated using a biotinylated derivative of D2S. It was found that sulfated polysaccharides bound to nucleosomes via the N termini of histones, especially H2A and H2B. Treatment of T-cells with either heparinase or heparitinase abolished nucleosome binding to plasma membranes. This suggests that nucleosomes are anchored to the surface of T-cells by heparan sulfate proteoglycans through an ionic interaction with the basic N-terminal residues in the histones. Furthermore, nucleosomes bound to the cell surface in this manner are then able to bind other sulfated polysaccharides, such as D2S, heparin, or dextran sulfate, through unoccupied histone N termini forming a complex comprising cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans, nucleosomes, and sulfated polysaccharides.